Criminal Courts
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Appeals and Wrongful Convictions
More than 75,000 criminal cases are opened in Cook County each year. We investigate failures in the criminal legal system, from arrest to incarceration to reentry.
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A law passed in 2021 empowered prosecutors to revisit excessive sentences, but so far, only two people have been released. Said one: ‘Two years into it, it’s helped two people?’
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Hundreds of Cook County probationers have been required to wear an electronic alcohol-monitoring bracelet, even in cases unrelated to alcohol. A single judge, Judge Gregory Vazquez, was responsible for more than one-third of the orders.
A collaborative journalism project that explored more than two decades of Cook County court data to understand how the system operates.
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Appellate ruling gets personal in back-and-forth fight with special prosecutor
Responding to an attack of ‘deep-seated’ personal bias, an Illinois appellate court panel refers a special prosecutor for sanctions before the Illinois bar and renews hope for one alleged victim of Chicago police torture.
Prosecutors drop charges against man whose murder conviction was based on legally blind witness
“This is the best Christmas gift ever,” said Nakesha Harris, whose son, Darien Harris, spent more than a decade in prison for a murder conviction based largely on the testimony of a witness who was legally blind.
Ronnie Carrasquillo is adjusting to freedom after nearly half a century in Illinois prisons
Carrasquillo came home in October after an appellate court ruled his 200-to-600-year sentence was excessive, and his numerous applications for parole were unfairly denied. Now, Carrasquillo is enjoying his family, learning technology, and speaking out about his case.
Unsealed records reveal new details about Illinois appellate judge’s alleged role in decades-old fraud scheme
Judge Carl Walker was never charged and denied any wrongdoing in mortgage frauds perpetrated by a real estate client. But a controversial 2003 raid on his law offices has reemerged in an effort to remove him from hearing a case.
Judge overturns murder conviction that was based on eyewitness who was legally blind
Prosecutors said they plan to retry Darien Harris, who was sentenced to 76 years in prison for a 2011 murder in Woodlawn based on the eyewitness testimony of a man who it was later discovered was legally blind.
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