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    Jon Burge

    Commentary
    Jon Burge's head made to look like a piggy bank breaking in half with coins and dollar bills falling out.

    Burge torture taxpayer tab eclipses $210M — and counting

    By Flint Taylor | June 14, 2022

    The cost of alleged police torture tied to Jon Burge and his associates could still go up with at least seven civil lawsuits pending.

    News

    Illinois appellate court denies exonerated man’s innocence certificate

    By Amy Qin | July 2, 2021

    While the state vacated Wayne Washington’s 1996 conviction for Marshall Morgan’s murder, he’s still fighting an uphill battle for an innocence certificate.

    Chicago Police Department

    ‘Who is James Gibson?’ Exonerated Chicago police torture survivor reflects on identity, faith, and reentry after 29 years in prison

    By James Gibson | February 4, 2021

    Gibson, 54, spent nearly 30 years behind bars after he says he was beaten into confessing to two 1989 murders. In an essay, Gibson recounts how his wrongful conviction and long fight for freedom robbed him of his identity, and how he’s trying to move forward.

    News

    Appeals court affirms new trial for Burge torture survivor

    By Jonah Newman | December 10, 2019

    The appeals court ruled that Jackie Wilson, who was convicted of the 1982 robbery and murder of two Chicago Police officers, was tortured into confessing and should received a new trial.

    News

    As Cook County Judge Coghlan seeks retention, concerns over lawsuit, rulings

    By Mari Cohen and Rick Tulsky | June 28, 2018

    Cook County judge Matthew Coghlan is among 62 Cook County judges who will ask voters to retain them for new terms in the November election. But Coghlan has some issues, including a current lawsuit contending he conspired with a disgraced Chicago police detective to frame two men for murder.

    News

    “Credible” evidence Burge detectives beat teen into confessing, board finds

    By Mari Cohen | December 13, 2017

    In 1990, high school senior Demond Weston was arrested for taking part in a gang’s shooting spree. On Wednesday, an Illinois commission finally gave credit to his claim he was tortured into confessing by police.

    About This Site

    Injustice Watch is a Chicago-based nonprofit news organization dedicated to investigating causes of systemic injustice, and helping point the path to a more just society.

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    We Recommend

    Las hospitalizaciones por Covid-19 en el Departamento de Correccionales de Illinois, provocan angustia a los seres queridos de los encarcelados

    Este artículo, publicado originalmente en inglés por Injustice Watch, está disponible en español gracias al proyecto "Traduciendo las noticias de Chicago", del Instituto de Noticias Sin Fines de Lucro (INN). Read in English.

    Our commitment to anti-racism

    We, the Injustice Watch staff, feel pain and anger, like so many in our community, over the police killing of George Floyd and the systemic racism his death represents. The list of Black people whose lives have been cut short by police brutality is excruciatingly long.

    2020 Judicial Primary Election Guide
    The scales of justice with a check mark and the words Check Your Judges

    13 states have never exonerated a prisoner based on DNA evidence. Here’s why.

    Hundreds of state prisoners have successfully used DNA evidence to win exonerations in the past three decades — except in 13 states. The states are Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and Vermont.

    Cook County judicial candidate, colleague misled jury into wrongful conviction

    This is the first of a series of Injustice Watch reports on candidates and campaigning for the Cook County Circuit Court 2018 elections.  Longtime Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney Michael Gerber achieved his lifelong dream in December 2016 when the state Supreme Court appointed him to the Cook County Circuit Court, filling a vacancy. But as he now runs to win a full six-year term, Gerber faces a potential obstacle: Another Cook County judge has ruled that Gerber and a second prosecutor made false statements to a jury that led to a wrongful conviction.

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    Injustice Watch is a nonpartisan, nonprofit journalism organization that conducts in-depth research exposing institutional failures that obstruct justice and equality.

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