After decades behind bars, Ivy Kelly was given a choice: Walk free, or keep fighting to clear his name

Inside the Cook County Jail’s “super max” division, Ivy Kelly goes about his daily shift, serving lunch to fellow detainees, until correctional officers interrupt him. The officers escort Kelly to a cramped room where detainees meet with their lawyers. Today, there’s no lawyer — just me and a photographer. Kelly, 51, sits across from us. His hair is short, parted and styled into waves. He wears eyeglasses with a dark browline. He looks bookish. No nonsense. Kelly has always insisted he’s…