Settlement reached in four Chicago torture cases
As much as there can ever be closure to this outrageous chapter of Chicago police history, it came within reach on December 7 when the city of Chicago agreed to pay nearly $20 million to four victims of police torture.
The settlement goes back to events during the 1970s and 80s and the systematic torture of African American suspects by former Police Commander Jon Burge and his fellow officers at the South Side Area 2 station. African American arrestees were routinely burnt, electro shocked and otherwise abused at Area 2.
It was the perseverance of the lawyers at the People’s Law Office, G. Flint Taylor, John Stainthorpe, Joey Mogul and Ben Elson, that exposed the systematic abuses and finally led to this settlement. The case started when NPAP members G. Flint Taylor and John Stainthorpe represented Andrew Wilson, a man accused and later convicted of killing two police officers. Wilson claimed that his confession was obtained by torture and he had the burn marks to prove his allegation. Subsequently, Taylor and Stainthorpe uncovered evidence that Wilson’s case was not isolated but rather representative of a pattern of abusive behavior against African American arrestees.
The tireless efforts of the lawyers at PLO were instrumental to the wrongful conviction movement in Illinois that led to Governor Ryan commuting all pending death sentences in Chicago and pardoning many of Burge’s victims. The lawyer's efforts included a report, supported by over 200 individuals and organizations, exposing the countless shortcomings of a biased inquiry into the torture cases by special prosecutors Edward J. Egan and Robert D. Boyle.
To read the report on the flawed investigation into the torture cases:
Entire report click here
Appendices click here
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