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* This is obviously some pretty big news…
For the first time, a federal judge has ruled former Mayor Richard M. Daley can be sued as a defendant for his alleged role in what plaintiffs claim is a citywide conspiracy to cover up police torture.
And Daley could be deposed by lawyers representing alleged victims, all African American, who charge their abuse came at the hands of a small band of predominantly white police officers under the command of former Chicago Police Cmdr. Jon Burge. […]
Michael Tillman spent 23 years in prison for murder. He confessed, said Taylor, because he was suffocated and beaten by Chicago Police officers. “They used a form of waterboarding, pouring 7-Up up his nose,” Taylor said. “That’s the kind of torture they used over a four-day period with Michael Tillman.”
When he was released in 2010, Cook County special prosecutors concluded there was no reliable evidence against him. Tillman received a certificate of innocence from the chief judge of the Criminal Courts of Cook County.
In his civil lawsuit, Tillman alleges the city conspired to cover up torture cases.
Burge, 63, already has been deposed by Taylor at the federal prison in North Carolina, where he is serving his sentence. During the deposition, Burge, seen for the first time wearing a khaki prison uniform, repeatedly took the Fifth Amendment.
This case just makes me sick. And Daley has never been held accountable.
* More…
Daley has been named in three other brutality lawsuits stemming from the torture and abuse that Burge is believed to have perpetrated years ago on dozens of African American men in Chicago — many of whom gave coerced confessions. But as they did in the Tillman case, the city moved to remove Daley from the lawsuits.
* Meanwhile…
Fifteen incarcerated men who claim they were sent to prison by confessions that were beaten, burned and tortured out of them by convicted Chicago police Lt. Jon Burge and his officers are getting some high-profile help - including from a former Illinois governor.
In a friend-of-the-court brief to be filed Wednesday with the Illinois Supreme Court, ex-Gov. Jim Thompson and more than 60 current and former prosecutors, judges and lawmakers are asking for new evidentiary hearings for inmates who say their convictions were based on coerced confessions. […]
The brief “gives the Illinois Supreme Court the opportunity to finally and firmly repudiate the Burge era of the Chicago Police Department,” said Thompson, a former Republican Illinois governor and U.S. attorney.
Lawyers are filing the brief in the case of Stanley Wrice, an inmate who has been claiming since 1982 that he falsely confessed to a brutal sexual assault only after Burge’s officers beat him in the face and groin with a flashlight and a piece of rubber.
Wrice, 57, is serving a 100-year sentence. Attorneys say he’s one of the longest-serving inmates with a Burge torture claim.
* From a press release…
Wrice, who remains in prison, was granted a hearing into the torture claims by the Illinois Appellate Court in 2010. In appealing that ruling to the Supreme Court, prosecutors argue that the admission of Wrice’s tortured confession was “harmless error,” because there was enough other evidence to support his conviction.
In their brief, the group of legal luminaries forcefully condemned this argument, writing:
“It is simply intolerable that any person should languish in prison as a result of conviction that rests even in part on a confession that Burge and his men are credibly claimed to have tortured into being. Our commitment to that position cannot be half-hearted – where, for instance, the use of tortured evidence might be rationalized after the fact as not having mattered to the outcome of the case. Instead, we believe Burge’s torture is so profoundly antithetical to our notions of justice and fair play that it cannot be permitted to taint any conviction, no matter the strength of the other evidence against the defendant.”
The group asks the Supreme Court to:
· Direct the Office of the Special Prosecutor to identify every case where a current Illinois prisoner claims his conviction rested at least in part on a false confession submitted under the duress of torture.
· Order the Chief Judge of the Cook County Circuit Court to conduct hearings into evidence of torture and determine, in each case, whether torture occurred.
· Void any convictions that are ruled to rest in whole or in part on confessions obtained illegally through torture.
Discuss.
posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Aug 10, 11 @ 8:01 am
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“The police are not here to create disorder, they’re here to preserve disorder.”
- R. J. Daley
Comment by Cincinnatus Wednesday, Aug 10, 11 @ 8:07 am
Any torture should end with severe punishment for the torurer. That said, one statement above bothers me, “profoundly antithetical to our notions of justice and fair play that it cannot be permitted to taint any conviction, no matter the strength of the other evidence against the defendant.” If DNA proves the guilt then the conviction should, or grant a retrial with that evidence and obtain a new conviction.
Comment by wizard Wednesday, Aug 10, 11 @ 8:25 am
should say “should stand”
Comment by wizard Wednesday, Aug 10, 11 @ 8:26 am
It is important to keep this in mind when thinking about these cases: When the authorities coerce an innocent person into confessing to a murder, the actual killer remains at large.
We are all victims of these crooked police.
– MrJM
Comment by MrJM Wednesday, Aug 10, 11 @ 8:38 am
ditto Wizard. It is absurd that the strength of evidence should be obliterated because of “burge” issues.
and in other criminal justice news anxiously awaiting the decision on NW students collecting information and invoking the “we are journalists” defense as they help defendants. pathetic.
Comment by amalia Wednesday, Aug 10, 11 @ 8:57 am
Just like Burge, many taxpayer dollars will be spent defending Mr. Daley
Comment by Plutocrat03 Wednesday, Aug 10, 11 @ 9:07 am
Not good issue when the Olympics come……oh that’s right.
Comment by just sayin' Wednesday, Aug 10, 11 @ 9:12 am
It is reassuring to know justice may finally come for poor people misused by cops and arrogant pols!
Comment by doug dobmeyer Wednesday, Aug 10, 11 @ 9:16 am
Bleepin’ ungolden.
Comment by Leroy Wednesday, Aug 10, 11 @ 9:24 am
Incredible news. This is a bigger blot on Illinois history than even Blago. Ironically, the Burge and Blago trials were at the same time, and Blago attracted a lot of attention away from the testimony from those tortured by Burge.
It is also worth noting that one of the men who was tortured and who has finally been freed, ended up spending some 20+ years in prison, the last NINE in isolation at Tamms. Great work Illinois.
Comment by Dan Bureaucrat Wednesday, Aug 10, 11 @ 9:43 am
Wow, Daley’s carrer consisted of two things up until he became mayor;
1. Being born a Daley
2. Being States Prosecutor
I doubt this will occur, but it is nice to see a judge trying to get answers.
Comment by Wumpus Wednesday, Aug 10, 11 @ 9:45 am
Daley has been held accountable for very little. Blago was one of the worst governors ever, but no family member made $700,000 on a state contract and if so it certainly wouldn’t be a one day story like the son of RMD, who spent the city to the brink.
Comment by Jim Wednesday, Aug 10, 11 @ 10:08 am
Dan Bureaucrat - of course, torture’s no longer a big deal. The last president saw to that. The good thing is that, though the media doesn’t pay much attention, the courts are finally making it possible to make the torture enablers pay - Just recently, a judge allowed Donald Rumsfeld to be named in a case where some federal contractors (they were mercenaries working for a “security” company - and US citizens - who, allegedly, noted the corruption going on around them and tried to report it - selling weapons to Iraqi militia, stealing money, that sort of thing - and they were allegedly detained and tortured for it) are suing the government alleging that they were tortured in Iraq. I only saw the story mentioned on the BBC News website. Not that it wasn’t reported in the US, but that I didn’t see it reported in any of the US news sources that I follow. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-14453895
Ironic that Big Jim is now anti-torture. By some accounts, Burge’s torture game started back in 1972. Big Jim could have investigated Burge when he was still the US Attorney.
Not that he’s as complicit in this as Daley - maybe nothing ever came across the desk of the US Attorney during the first half of the 70’s. Just noting that he’s someone else who could have put a stop to Burge, but (for whatever reason) failed to do so.
Comment by jerry 101 Wednesday, Aug 10, 11 @ 10:44 am
anybody know where i can find the brief on line?
Comment by bigred Wednesday, Aug 10, 11 @ 10:49 am
Sure does make me proud to be a citizen from the great State of Illinois.
Comment by Jechislo Wednesday, Aug 10, 11 @ 11:00 am
Similar to Federal Appeals upholding a suit against Rumsfeld.
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Aug 10, 11 @ 11:05 am
Sorry. Hadn’t read the posts before posting that last one.
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Aug 10, 11 @ 11:06 am
Is this the first time daley has ever had to testify and if so will we see him on the 5pm news walking into the federal court building?
Comment by shore Wednesday, Aug 10, 11 @ 11:15 am
Since Kirk recently announced his great admiration for Daley and has been recuiting people from Daley’s committees or his committee, I wonder whether he’s going to man-up and defend his friends now that push comes to shove…or run away and pretend he doesn’t he know them. Any bets on that one?
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Aug 10, 11 @ 11:20 am
Sorry, fried a laptop yesterday and am working on one with a keyboard similar to Ghost’s. Should have read “…recruiting people from Daley’s committees for his committees…”
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Aug 10, 11 @ 11:22 am
And speaking of “heinous” behavior and crimes, while Lisa Madigan and her team are working relentlessly to find and prosecute child pornographers and peds who harm children here, Kirk seems to believe our Country still has unlimited resources and would rather commit them elsewhere by pandering to ethnic groups. Hmmm….
“The *Eastern European Advisory* board also raised concerns about continued issues with national sovereignty and human trafficking in some Eastern European nations, which causes reasonable unease in friends and relatives in Eastern European communities within the United States.”
While that’s obviously a horrendous problem, why should OUR children here take a backseat to anyone when resources are limited. What about concerns of those in the US, Senator? Truly, where are your priorities?
http://www.russianpointe.com/blog/
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Aug 10, 11 @ 12:00 pm
Now that you mention it, Lisa Madigan had ample opportunity to seek justice in these torture cases and she shrugged it off. She undoubetedly saw more political gain in making herself known as the crusader against child porn.
Comment by Dan Bureaucrat Wednesday, Aug 10, 11 @ 12:12 pm
PS. very interesting points from jerry 101.
Comment by Dan Bureaucrat Wednesday, Aug 10, 11 @ 12:15 pm
Well, it’s a good thing that Thompson stepped up then, huh, to cover the other issue? Maybe between the two of them, we’ll make some progress where it really counts.
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Aug 10, 11 @ 12:17 pm
And Kirk can keep posing for the cameras while enjoying “culture”.
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Aug 10, 11 @ 12:18 pm
For the record, the Illinois Attorney General doesn’t have jurisdiction to prosecute sex offenders. Though they do provide some investigative and technical support, that is the role of the various State’s Attorneys (and US Attorneys for the porn.)
Comment by girlawyer Wednesday, Aug 10, 11 @ 12:18 pm
Thank you. I stand corrected. But with the stats showing that child porn is on the rise–and research indicating that child porn is a valid diagnostic indicator of sexual crimes against children, I’m sure everyone can use all the help they can get the worst of all pre-dators off the streets and away from their computers.
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Aug 10, 11 @ 12:23 pm
Dan, Actually she has rallied against groupon/expiring gift cards and possibly dangerous baby cribs.
Comment by Wumpus Wednesday, Aug 10, 11 @ 2:14 pm
girllawyer, the Attorney General’s office DOES run the Sex Offender Management Board, and from all accounts they gave done a remarkably bad job. So bad, that they have twice been audited for doing nothing.
And, the AG does push all these inane sex offender laws that are designed to look tough and reelect legislators, not prevent or reduce crimes against children which IS very doable with good policies. But, it’s all politics and not really about the children.
Comment by Dan Bureaucrat Wednesday, Aug 10, 11 @ 3:14 pm
Either way, my question still stands: Why is Kirk worried about trafficking overseas when we have similar problems here that are on the rise and still need to be resolved? Is he not interested in what’s going on in Americans’ minds? And when I say “Americans” that includes those from ALL ethnic backgrounds with friends and relatives ALL across the globe, but whose primary loyalty is now to THIS country?
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Aug 10, 11 @ 3:48 pm
How about listening to displaced American workers who have been laid off because our friends from “Russia” have filed “discrimination” suits against companies and therefore are now protected when it comes to RIFs? And THEIR loyalties of hiring even more of their “protected class” instead of “average” Americans when jobs open up again?
Or does he know about that, but just doesn’t care because we’ve all lost our accents and acclimated the way we were supposed to?
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Aug 10, 11 @ 3:54 pm
lol Put blond hair on the guy in this photo and he kinda looks like Putin. (Maybe we should look at the trafficking issue. Think they might have replaced the real Kirk a few years ago? (THAT was a joke. So is his “report card”, too, right? Otherwise, Dan, I don’t think our AG has a chance of ever competing with Kirk on “politics” and publicity.))
http://twitter.com/#!/SenatorKirk/status/101372345809252352/photo/1
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Aug 10, 11 @ 4:16 pm
Why has President Obama never spoke on this? Because he lacks courage and wanted Daley’s support. President Obama lived through the Burge stuff when he came to Chicago and was a State Senator since 1996 and US Senator since 2004 and never uttered a peep about Jon Burge even when requested to do so.
Anita Alvarez also lacks moral courage and won’t deal with this issue–we can give Rahm Emmanuel time but allowing city lawyers and politically connected law firms like overbilling Freeborn and Peters to rack up big bills on cases they will settle anyway is not the way to go.
Some of the law suits are BS and should be fought but maybe a class action with all Burge victims or vetting the suits internally or apologizing for what happened may go a long way to resolving this. Also it is insane that Burge still has his pension
Comment by Omar Little Wednesday, Aug 10, 11 @ 4:16 pm
==It is absurd that the strength of evidence should be obliterated because of “burge” issues.==
Amalia, would you be more comfortable if everyone who is arrested is just executed on the spot? No fuss, no muss, no messy American justice?
They do that in China sometimes when a big international event is coming. Prior to the Beijing Olympics, Chinese Commie authorities rounded up the Usual Suspects of dopers, prostitutes, thieves, homeless, etc., charged, tried, and executed them, sometimes in the same day.
And sometimes even in that order.
The folks in Saudi and Iran roll that way, too. So efficient.
Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Aug 10, 11 @ 10:15 pm
Did you ever think this is just the beginning? Daley has a long road ahead of himself. Bumpy.
Comment by Patrick McDonough Thursday, Aug 11, 11 @ 7:02 am
I am confused. Torture that occurred in 1982 is no big deal because of a president from 2001 to 2009.
No both were big deals. The politics tells us more about ourselves than we might like.
Comment by jeff Thursday, Aug 11, 11 @ 9:01 am