[Contact form] A Campaign to End Torture rally tomorrow - wa

[andendquote]

andendquote sent a message using the contact form at http://occupychi.org/contact.

I got this from the Human Rights list at University of Chicago.

"PRESS RELEASE FOR WEDNESDAY
Immediate Press Release
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Time: Noon until 1:00PM
Criminal Court Building
2650 South California Ave.
Chicago, Illinois 60608

Sub: March, Rally, and News conference against Chicago Police Torture and Wrongful Convictions

Contact Person: Mark A. Clements, Campaign to End Torture, 847-276-1382, e-mail: (clementsm82@yahoo.com)

Chicago Police Tortures under the command or Jon Burge and his subordinates and wrongful convictions remain to shame the County of Cook. The Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez and Cook County Special Prosecutor Stewart A. Nudelman have systematically ignored the fact that innocent men and women remain to decay behind prison walls as the result of either torture or wrongful conviction, despite drawing enormous criticism from the legal community and community groups. Eric Caine was released on March 16, 2011, the same day in which Burge reported to prison to serve his four and ahalf year sentence for perjury and obstruction of justice for lying about tortures at occurred under his command at area two and three violent crime units. Today Caine struggle's to clear his name as he was recently denied a "Certificate of Innocence" by a Cook County Circuit Court judge. Caine dismissal to gain a "Certificate of Innocence" is currently on appeal. Caine spent 25 years behind prison walls despite having clear evidence that he was tortured by detectives and played no part with the crime. The case of People Vs. Stanley Wrice, he was taken to area two where he was beat and tortured by two of Burge subordinates in 1982 to confess to his involvement with a alleged rape and assault. Wrice has always maintain his innocence claiming to have been tortured inside area two. In December the Illinois Appellate Court granted Wrice a hearing on his claim of torture in which the Cook County Special Prosecutor Nudelman appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court calling for all tortured confessions to be treated as "Harmless Error" if their is additional evidence to sustain a conviction. In Wrice, the witnesses have recanted their testimonies claiming that while they were at the police station they themselves were abused by detectives to finger Wrice with the crime. No DNA evidence exist in the case. Should tortured confessions be ruled as "Harmless Error" this would provide police with a open license to beat and torture suspects to confess to crimes. Former Illinois Governor James R. Thompson sign a AMICI CURIAE friend of the court brief on Wrice behalf urging the Illinois Supreme Court to grant hearings to all torture victims. The Wrice decision is suspected to be release by the Illinois Supreme Court within days.

The case of Kafele Parker and Water Cage both were visiting a hospital when a drive by shooting occurred. Despite having evidence that they were at a hospital and a affidavit from a nurse stating that he seen them their, both men were found guilty and remain in prison serving long terms. Jamie Jackson was a teenager taken to a police station and question in-regards to a robbery murder that occurred at a gas station. Mr. Jackson has always maintain his innocence and despite the DNA never linking him to the crime he was found guilty and sentence to natural life. Nicole Harris accused of killing her son. Evidence shows the baby died accidental while playing. Harris was mentally and psychologically coerced by police to provide a self-incriminating confession. Perrence Washington and Kevin Henderson 14 and 15 year old teens convicted of armed robbery with a firearm despite the victim not being able to identify them. The Boys just this year was sentence to over twenty five years. The Prosecutor stated that she did not need no evidence to convict the boys. In a June, 2011, the Illinois Better Government Association released a report revealing that it has cost Illinois Tax payers over 214 million dollars in eighty plus cases to conviction, and house, feed, and compensate.

The Cook County Public Defender Office should not be cut in their budget to any degree. That Office only have 64 investigators to investigate over 200 hundred thousand cases yearly. The County and City have announce repeatedly that they would not short change public safety, however it knows that the Cook County Public Defender office is under staff which have cause many innocent people to serve prison time. The Campaign to End Torture and other groups call on the Cook County Board President to allot more funding to the Cook County Public Defender office to implement a Wrongful Conviction Unit, to better train investigators and to immediately restore "ALL INVESTIGATORS!" that have been laid off as the result of that office Public cut's. We are calling on the Cook County State's Attorney Office to create a "INTEGRITY UNIT' to investigate all questionable convictions. We request that Mrs. Alvarez office no longer oppose Chicago police torture victims a hearing on their claim of torture. Wrongful Conviction can be greatly decreased in the County of Cook, however it takes money to correct what it broken.

All Media+ Chicago Police Torture victims and wrongful convicted victim family and friends will be available for interviews."