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Demonstrators on the march against Chicago police torture (Eric Ruder | SW)

NOTHING COULD be more horrible then spending decades of your life
inside a prison even though you are innocent. But this has happened
repeatedly in Chicago to a group of African American men who were
torture victims of Chicago police under Commander Jon Burge.

The victims were brought in to Area 2 and Area 3 police headquarters
as suspects. In order to get them to confess, they were handcuffed to
rings attached to the wall inside interrogation rooms. Some had their
pants pulled down and were assaulted with an unknown object. Others were
connected to an electro-shock box. Many more were beaten with fist,
flashlights and telephone books. They were suffocated with plastic bags
and typewriter covers, their testicles were grabbed and squeezed, some
were from windows, and police constantly used degrading racial epithets.

While some torture victims have been fortunate enough to win release
and even gain compensation for being wrongfully imprisoned, others
haven't. Last year, lawyers from the People's Law Office and Roderick
MacArthur Justice Center filed a class-action petition for victims of
police torture who remain behind prison walls in Illinois.

At a recent City Council meeting that approved $6.15 million
settlements for two police torture victims, Ronald Kitchen and Marvin
Reeves, alderman asked how it could be that there are still torture
victims in prison. Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who had promised he would attempt
to settle torture cases, issued an apology on behalf of the city to all
those who suffered as a result of Burge's actions.

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ILLINOIS LAWMAKERS, under heavy pressure from community groups,
churches, attorneys and the families of torture victims, established the
Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission, whose responsibility would be to
determine if torture had occurred in various cases, and if it had
contributed toward convictions. The commission hired David Thomas as its
executive director, with the responsibility to investigate cases
brought before it.

One guideline in the law required the commission to notify family
members of the victims of crimes when someone came forward to claim
torture in the cases where their relative was involved. In several
high-profile cases where Thomas and the commission found credible
evidence that a suspect had been tortured, and therefore referred the
case to the courts for a possible new trial, he did not notify family
members of the crime victim of the board's decision.

After family members of crime victims appeared at a recent meeting,
Thomas resigned from his post, under pressure from Gov. Pat Quinn.

These relatives of crime victims have no evidence to contribute about
whether or not someone was tortured. All they can do is provide the
terrible details of how their loved ones were killed--they often believe
a crime was committed by the person alleging torture, but they have no
evidence one way or another about the torture claim.

The commission decided to rescind three recommendations for a judge
to consider new trials in the cases of torture victims Jerry Mahaffey,
Jackie Wilson, and Jaime Hauad. After listening to relatives of crime
victims in all three cases, one must question whether it is fair for
details about the crime to be permitted before the commission when its
duty should be about seeking truth regarding claims of torture.

The commission has no standing to consider innocence or guilt in
these questions, so one must ask why these relatives should be part of
hearings. What is certain for now is that the relatives of crime victims
have vowed to attend future meetings and to testify on different cases
where what they say can only damn those seeking hearings on claims that
they were tortured by police.

The family members of crime victims can't contribute evidence as to
whether those claiming torture were in fact abused by the Chicago
police, so the section of the law establishing the commission that
requires notifying them should be repealed.
http://socialistworker.org/2013/10/02/another-obstacle-to-justice-for-torture-victims