Today a man was convicted of lying in a civil lawsuit.
His lies concerned the brutal and calculated torture of dozens of black suspects who were held under his custody in his Chicago police unit.
Chicago News Co-op has more:
Jon Burge, the former Chicago Police commander at the center of the city’s decades long police torture scandal, was convicted today on federal charges of obstruction of justice and perjury. He faces up to 45 years in prison
Burge, 62, was expressionless as the verdict was read. He was found guilty of lying under oath in a 2003 civil court case about the torture of African American police suspects in the 1970’s and ’80’s. The jury — seven men and five women, including one African American– began deliberations at 3 p.m. Thursday. Their verdict marks the first criminal conviction of a cop in the police torture scandal. A report of a suspect being tortured by Chicago police first surfaced in 1973.
[...]
Prosecutors never filed charges of assault or attempted murder and the statute of limitations has since run out.
Mark Clements, 45, cried in front of reporters in courthouse lobby Monday. He said detectives under Burge pulled on his genitals until he confessed to four murders and an arson. He served 28 years.
“I was 16 years old and these people stole my [expletive] life,” he sobbed. “I hate to tell you the truth. I sat in a prison cell, and I prayed for this day. Today is a victory for every poor person. I was 16 years old. This is America. Sixteen years old. What are we gonna do about other people who are sitting in those prisons.”
More than 20 people who claim they were tortured remain incarcerated in Illinois.
U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said the jury’s decision was a measure of justice, and that it was sad that it took until 2010 to reach a criminal court of law.
“What’s clear is that the jury necessarily found that torture occurred in Chicago police stations at Area 2 in the 1980’s and it’s a disgrace that in this city in the 1980’s people could be subjected to abuse and torture ranging from guns to the face, guns in mouths. Suffocating, electric shocks, radiator burns and that sort of thing.”
“We need to have it on the record that this happened,” Fitzgerald said. “We need to treat it as a fact that it was proved and recognize that it was an awful thing before we can move forward.”
[...]
“My daughter is 29 years old,” he said. “I missed all those years with my daughter sitting in a prison cell for a crime I did not commit. I do not feel sorry for Jon Burge. I do not feel sorry for him.”
Now, you might think that many of our friends on the right-wing would be smart enough to condemn this and attribute it to the "Chicago Way" that Obama was allegedly a part of (Obama actually fought for legislation mandating the videotaping of police interrogations, thus reducing the risk of police torture and false confessions). But it seems that Burge actually has many sympathizers within the Right Wing Authoritarian community.
Here's a sampling:
nonymous said...
If this isn't the final nail in the coffin of police work then you deserve what you get when you get jammed up. Its open season on police and jurors will believe convicted felons and lowlifes over a decorated police officer anyday. Wake up or tou could be next.
6/29/2010 12:25:00 AM
Anonymous said...
That's a Chicago jury for you. Burge wasn't credible but the convicted felons were. I guess the term "a shadow of a doubt" doesn't apply to police officers.
6/29/2010 12:32:00 AM
Anonymous said...
hopefully he gets the minimum. if he gats anything substantial i hope he dies before he serves a day and shows em all.
fuck these shitbird liars and the liberal hippy suburbanites who support him
6/29/2010 12:32:00 AM
Anonymous said...
How much money was wasted on this trial? I do not know all of the deatils, but have any of the supposed victims ever been found innocent?
I really hate how the double jeopardy part of the constitution gets ignored. (OK not exactly relevant here, but some what)
Can't convict on a state crime then charge a federal crime.
Statute of limitations expire, then make up a new charge.
Just BS to me.
6/29/2010 01:26:00 AM
Anonymous said...
Just one more reason not to extend ourselves. Again the victims of homicides mean nothing. Just look at time being served by homicide offenders, a disgrace !!!!!! This job is messy, thats life in thug ridden, gang infested Shitcago. I'm sick and tired of crys of torture against our military and those charged with the job of protecting us. Torture is getting your body parts sawed off with machetes. Pointing guns at each other is the norm in the city of Shitcago, just look at the statistics. How come we don't add the torture to the MCC and ILCS. Instead of agg assault write up torture. People are wronged from birth to death, that is life !!!! And they don't get paid millions by tax dollars. Burge did the dirty work that no one wants to talk about or think about. Murderers are the worst of humanity, seeing a murder victim can never be erased from ones memory. I pray for those that cast judement upon this man !!!!
6/29/2010 05:21:00 AM
Anonymous said...
fair trial? this guy s been DEMONIZED in the media for years. lying in a civil trial? go to 26th/cal anytime and watch as scumbags and their lawyers lie their asses off! their punishment? they beat the case and sue everyone! justice in cook county....depends on which way the wind blows.
6/29/2010 07:32:00 AM
016 Afternoons said...
I remember the sick feeling my partner and I had that night many years ago when someone came over Zone 12 and said that the Police Board had fired Jon Burge. I felt part of the Chicago Police Department die. I just had that same feeling again. I feel for him, I feel for us, and I feel for the City. IF anyone was "tortured" back then, you can be damn sure it wasn't a legit, straight up dude coming home from choir practice. I had the honor of meeting Jon recently, and I wish I would've had the chance to work for him back in the day. I am sad to say that we have lost control, and I don't ever see us getting it back. We suffer for it, but the citizens (I refer to the actual TAXPAYING citizens) who deserve the real police suffer worse - if Joe Jagoff comes after one of us most likely he will lose, but the regular citizen will be a sitting duck.
Thanks for doing The Job, Jon; and I'm sorry you got fucked - again.
6/29/2010 11:36:00 PM
Anonymous said...
To the poster claiming to be "an old timer, let me clue you in" and your numbered categories. I do not believe you are CPD. For the record, I'm a troller. Burge did some good work and Burge probably did some bad work. Gee, that seems to prevail in all occupations from famous lawyers to Greylord judges. But there is one thing you can probably bet the bank on. Burge never fucked with anyone who didn't have it coming. Yes, some bad work. But someone said it on another topic-in another day and age, an angry mob of citizens would have stormed A2, taken the Wilson brothers out of jail for a beating and lynching. The mere fact that we have evolved from that extreme to one wherein a jury of supposed righteous citizens considers the purportedly sworn testimony from criminals and others in a purjury case is almost too funny to be true.
6/29/2010 11:24:00 PM
Anonymous said...
People wonder why crime is so bad today.No one will say it but we know why.There is no fear of the Police anymore..do a murder get locked up then sue and cry foul.You may spend some time in the joint (which alot of thugs could care less about) then have a nice check waiting for you when ya get out.The sheep want the murders and violent crimes stopped but don't want it done the way it should be.Killers and rapists let go with payouts...policemen fired and locked up..victims left swinging in the wind..again.Thugs walk the streets with guns, and if caught will have it thrown out in court by liberal judges (or light sentences) yet citizens who work and contribute to society have to fight tooth and nail to have their constitutional right to bear arms.Jagoffs contribute nothing and do not care about parking tickets,boots,fines cause they pay nothing...while good people who pay for houses,cars,bills,tuition get the asshole Mayor sending his revenue rats into good neighborhoods to ticket for petty violations $50+ a pop.
To the liberal citizens,lawyers,judges,media..this is the Police you want...this is the result...the crime will get worse,the blood will flow,the murders, assaults,rapes,robberies and dope dealing will go unpunished and unanswered.I feel no pity or sympathy for you and yours who will maybe be affected by these times which you created.To the good citizens out there all I can say is we are sorry...there are police working from all over the country who want to do what is right to protect you from the animals of society...but the media and govt is on their side and only us and you suffer.Our hands are tied more and more each day and there is less and less light showing at the end of the tunnel.God bless Jon Burge,all Police officers,and the good people out there trying to raise their kids and do what is right.Take advantage of the supreme court decision and protect yourselves,property and families.And a big shame on you and fuck you to the coward Jody,stuttering midget mayor,the liberal corrupt judges,lawyers and media.It truly is us against them.
Sorry for the rant but it needed to be said.
6/29/2010 11:44:00 AM
For those who would say that I'm being unfair in using this blog to make a point, consider the fact that "libertarian" Glenn Reynolds approvingly linked to it while making a point about the McDonald decision.
Apparently the right of a white man to own deadly weapons is more important than the right of a black man to due process and humane treatment. Who knew?