Jon Burge
Encyclopedia
Jon Graham Burge is a convicted felon
and former Chicago Police Department
detective and commander who gained notoriety for allegedly torturing
more than 200 criminal suspects between 1972 and 1991, in order to force confessions. A decorated United States Army
veteran
, Burge served tours in South Korea and Vietnam
and continued as an enlisted United States Army Reserve
soldier where he served in the military police
. He then returned to the South Side of Chicago
and began his career as a police officer. Allegations were made about the methods of Burge and those under his command. Eventually, hundreds of similar reports resulted in a decision by Illinois Governor George Ryan
to declare a moratorium on death penalty executions in Illinois
in 2000 and to clear the state's death row
in 2003.
The most controversial arrests began in February 1982, in the midst of a series of shootings of Chicago law enforcement officials in Police Area 2, whose detective squad Burge commanded. Some of the people who confessed to murder were later granted new trials and a few were acquitted or pardoned. Burge was acquitted of police brutality charges in 1989 after a first trial resulted in a hung jury
. He was suspended from the Chicago Police Department in 1991 and fired in 1993 after the Police Department Review Board ruled that he had used torture.
After Burge was fired, there was a groundswell of support to investigate his convictions. In 2002, a special prosecutor
began investigating the accusations. The review, which cost $17 million, revealed improprieties that resulted in no action due to the statute of limitations. Several convictions were reversed, remanded, or overturned. All Illinois death-row inmates received reductions in their sentences. Four of Burge's victims were pardoned by then-Governor Ryan and subsequently filed a consolidated suit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
against the City of Chicago, various police officers, Cook County
and various State's Attorney
s. A $19.8 million settlement was reached in December 2007, with the "city defendants." Cases against Cook County and the other current/former county prosecutors continue as of July 2008. In October 2008, Patrick Fitzgerald
had Burge arrested on charges of obstruction of justice
and perjury
in relation to a civil suit regarding the torture allegations against him. On April 1, 2010, Judge Joan Lefkow
postponed the trial, for the fourth time, to May 24, 2010. Burge was convicted on all counts on June 28, 2010 and sentenced to four and one half years in federal prison on January 21, 2011.
community area
on the Southeast side
of Chicago, Burge was the second eldest son of Floyd and Ethel Burge. Floyd was a blue collar
worker of Norwegian descent and Ethel was an aspiring fashionista
of mixed Western European descent. Burge attended Bowen High School where he showed a keen interest in the school's JROTC. There he was exposed to military drill, weapons, leadership and military history
. He attended the University of Missouri
but dropped out after one semester, which ended his draft deferment
. He returned to Chicago to work as a stock clerk in the supermarket chain Jewel
in 1966.
In June 1966, Burge enlisted in the army reserve
and began six years of service, including two years of active duty
. He spent eight weeks at a military police
(MP) school in Georgia
. He also received some training at Fort Benning
, Georgia, where he learned interrogation
techniques. He volunteered for a tour of duty in the Vietnam
, but instead he became an MP trainer and then served as an MP in South Korea, gathering five letters of appreciation from superiors. On June 18, 1968, Burge volunteered for duty in Vietnam a second time, and was assigned to the Ninth Military Police Company of the Ninth Infantry Division. He reported to division headquarters, where he was assigned to provide security as a sergeant at his division base camp, which was named Dong Tam by William Westmoreland
. Burge described his military police service as time spent escorting convoys, providing security for forward support bases, supervising security for the divisional central base camp in Dong Tam, and then serving a tour as a provost marshal investigator.
During his military service, Burge earned a Bronze Star
, a Purple Heart
, the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry and two Army Commendation Medals for valor, for pulling wounded men to safety while under fire. Burge claimed no knowledge of or involvement in prisoner interrogation, brutality or torture. Burge was honorably discharged from the Army on August 25, 1969.
. In May 1972, he was promoted to detective and assigned to Area 2 (Pullman Area) robbery
. He was next promoted to field lieutenant in the Monroe Street District. From 1981–1986 he served as the commander of the Area 2 Violent Crimes
Unit until he was promoted to the Commander of the Bomb and Arson Unit in 1986. In 1988, Burge became Area 3 (Brighton Park) detective commander.
rs wounded and a rookie Chicago police officer shot and killed on a CTA
bus on February 5) who had been shot in the 60 square miles (155.4 km²) area of the South Side within about a month.
Initial interrogation procedures allegedly included shooting pets, handcuffing questioning subjects to stationary objects for day-long time periods, and holding guns to the heads of minors. Jesse Jackson
, Operation PUSH spokesmen, the Chicago Defender
and black Chicago Police officers were outraged with techniques that were used. Renault Robinson
, president of Chicago's Afro American Police League characterized the dragnet operation as "sloppy police work, a matter of racism." comparing the police action to that of a southern sheriff leading a posse that turned into a lynch mob. Jackson complained that the black community was being held under martial law
. After all of the police excesses, mere coincidence enabled the capture of the suspects for the most recent two killings. Tyrone Sims identified Donald "Kojak" White as the shooter, and Kojak was linked to Andrew and Jackie Wilson by having committed a burglary
with them earlier on the day of the killings.
with lacerations on various parts of his head, including his face, chest bruises and second-degree
thigh burns. It was clear that Wilson had received sufficient injuries to be sent to the hospital, with more than a dozen of them caused while in police custody. During a two-week trial in 1983, Andrew Wilson was convicted of the killings and given a death penalty sentence, while his brother Jackie was convicted as an accomplice and given a life sentence. In 1985, Jackie's conviction was overturned by the Illinois Appellate Court
because his right to remain silent had not been properly explained. Because Andrew was given a death sentence, his case was not reviewable on the same grounds by the Appellate Court and went directly to the Illinois Supreme Court. In April 1987, the Supreme Court overturned Andrew's conviction with a ruling that he had confessed
involuntarily after being beaten by the police.
In October 1987, the Appellate court further ruled the Jackie Wilson should have been tried separately from his brother and that evidence against Andrew Wilson regarding other matters for which the police wanted him was incorrectly admitted. In June 1988, Andrew was re-convicted. However, with 10 women in favor and two men opposed, the jury was unable to agree on his eligibility for the death penalty after five days of deliberation, and the following month he was granted a life sentence.
Seven years after the original arrest, Andrew filed a civil suit stating that he had been beaten, suffocated with a plastic bag, burned (by cigarette
and radiator
), treated with electric shock
, and been the victim of the pattern of a cover-up. Although the suit was against four detectives, a former police superintendent and the City of Chicago, it hinged on the testimonies of plaintiff Wilson and commander Burge, who oversaw all of the alleged activity.
Jury selection commenced on February 15, 1989. The original two-woman, four-man jury included three blacks and a Hispanic. When Burge took the stand on March 13, 1989, he denied claims he injured Andrew Wilson during questioning and denied any knowledge of any such activity by other officers. Gradually, charges against other officers were dismissed. On March 15, 1989, Sergeant Thomas McKenna was cleared of wrongdoing; and on March 30, 1989, Detectives John Yucaitis and Patrick O'Hara were unanimously cleared by the jury. However, the jury was at an impasse on the Burge verdict. U.S. District Judge Brian B. Duff ordered a retrial for Burge, former Police Supt. Richard Brzeczek and the City of Chicago on two other outstanding charges (conspiracy and whether the City of Chicago's policy toward police brutality contributed to Wilson's injuries). Burge was cleared in a second nine-week trial that began on June 9, 1989.
Burge and other Chicago Police officers allegedly used methods of torture that left few marks. They were accused of slamming telephone books on top of suspect’s heads. There were also three separate electrical devices that Burge and his detectives were accused of using: a cattle prod
, a hand cranked device, and a violet wand
. They allegedly used an old-style hand cranked telephone which generated electricity, and attach wires to the suspect’s genitals or face. According to veteran sergeant D. J. Lewis, this is a method of torture common in the Korean War, and usually results in a confession. Burge has denied ever witnessing such telephone torture procedures. The violet wand was said to be regularly placed either on the anus
, into the rectum
or against the victim's exposed genitals. They also used stun guns and adapted hair dryers. Burge and officers under his command also allegedly engaged in mock executions, in putting plastic bags over heads, cigarette burnings and severe beatings. At one point he is alleged to have supervised the electrical shocking of a 13 year old boy, Marcus Wiggins.
Danny K. Davis
turned police brutality and excessive force into a Chicago Mayoral race campaign issue for the February 26, 1991 Democratic Primary. He sought an independent citizens review. On January 28, 1991, Amnesty International
called for an investigation into police torture in Chicago. After Mayor of Chicago Richard M. Daley
showed reluctance to follow the Amnesty International directive, Davis raised an issue about a police coverup. Eventually, after pressure by citizens' organizations and anti-brutality organizations an internal investigation resumed.
In 1991, Gregory Banks filed suit against Burge, three colleagues and the City of Chicago for condoning brutality and torture. The allegation was related to a false 1983 confession to murder obtained by placing a plastic bag over Banks' head, putting a gun in his mouth and other acts. There were eleven other suspects that the officers allegedly abused with brutality such as electro-shock
. The suit was brought by the same attorneys who represented Andrew Wilson in the previous 1989 brutality case. The suit described 23 incidents against black and Hispanic suspects between 1972–1985. A third suit was brought against Burge in 1993. The Banks suit named Sergeant Peter Dignan as one of the officers involved in the abusive handling. Dignan was promoted later for meritorious service despite the fact that the City of Chicago settled out of court with Banks.
In November 1991, the Chicago Police Department Office of Professional Standards, an internal review division for police misconduct, acknowledged an October 25, 1991 request for action against Burge. This type of request was a common precursor to a police dismissal and gave the City of Chicago's Corporation counsel 30 days to consider the report. Burge was suspended pending separation for 30 days starting on November 8, 1991. The Chicago Police Board set a November 25 hearing to formalize the firing of Burge and two detectives based on 30 counts of abuse and brutality against Wilson. The hearing related to the internal police investigation finding that Burge and Detective John Yucaitis physically abused Wilson in 1982, while Detective Patrick O`Hara did nothing to stop them. The suspension became controversial after the 30 day period ended and the officers remained suspended without pay. They sued for reinstatement, but their reinstatements were denied. During the hearing an internal report that had been suppressed for years revealed police review findings that criminal suspects were subjected to systematic brutality at the Area 2 detective headquarters for 12 years and that supervisory commanders had knowledge of the abuses. During the trial, several alleged victims testified against Burge.
The internal hearing concluded in March 1992, and the Chicago Police Board found Burge guilty of "physically abusing" an accused murderer 11 years earlier and ordered his firing from the police force on February 10, 1993. Detectives John Yucaitis and Patrick O'Hara, were given 15-month suspensions without pay and reinstated, which amounted to a penalty equal to time served. Upon reinstatement the two detectives were initially demoted, but almost a year later they were reinstated at full-rank with backpay for time served while demoted. Burge attempted to have the ruling overturned, but the suspension and subsequent firing was upheld.
The internal hearing resulted in a situation in which the City of Chicago was employing lawyers to defend Burge during an appeal by Wilson and a new case by Banks while employing lawyers to prosecute him on departmental charges. The City of Chicago had to hire outside counsel to prosecute the detectives at the internal hearing. After having spent $750,000 to defend Burge in the Wilson hearing, the City of Chicago was in a dilemma about whether to follow normal practices and pay for the defense of its police officers.
In 1993, Wilson was granted a new hearing by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The ruling was based on the fact that the exoneration of the officers resulted from a trial strategy to "immerse the jury in the sordid details of Wilson's crimes" rather than focus on a suspect's "right to be free from torture and the correlative right to present his claim of torture to a jury that has not been whipped into a frenzy of hatred".
, Anthony Amsterdam, George N. Leighton
, Abner Mikva, R. Eugene Pincham
and representatives from the MacArthur Justice Center at the University of Chicago Law School
, and by the London-based International Center for Criminal Law and Human Rights called for a stay of execution
for Aaron Patterson who was allegedly tortured into a confession.
In 1999, lawyers for several death row inmates began to call for a special review of the convictions based on evidence extracted by Burge and his colleagues. These inmates (Aaron Patterson; Madison Hobley; Stanley Howard; Leonard Kidd; Derrick King; Ronald Kitchen; Reginald Mahaffey; Jerry Mahaffey; Andrew Maxwell, and Leroy Orange) became known as the "Death Row 10". In a report called the Goldston Report, the City of Chicago enumerated 50 alleged instances of police brutality and abuse by Burge and other officers. The City of Chicago struggled with the issue of coerced confessions for decades and in the 1990s it quietly reopened several controversial brutality cases. Despite an extensive investigation into the actions by a number of police employees, few others but Burge were sanctioned.
Several politicians, including state representative Bobby Rush
, requested that State's Attorney Richard A. Devine
seek new trials for the Death Row 10 who were allegedly tortured by Burge. Devine met with representatives and supporters of the inmates and was convinced to request that the Illinois Supreme Court stay proceedings against three of the inmates. However, the Supreme Court denied Devine's request. Rush also sought out Janet Reno
to pursue federal intervention.
In February 1999, David Protess, a Northwestern University
journalism professor and his students uncovered exonerating evidence on behalf of Death Row inmate Anthony Porter. The students produced four affidavits and a videotaped statement that placed the guilt on another suspect. Recantations of testimony at trial were among the affidavits obtained. One witness claimed that he named Anthony Porter after police officers threatened, harassed and intimidated him into doing so.
In 2000, Governor Ryan halted executions in Illinois after courts found 13 death row
inmate
s had been wrongfully convicted. Ryan also promised to review the cases of all Illinois death row inmates. With the number of cases of alleged brutality, offers were made to allegedly coerced inmates to drop charges in exchange for reduced sentences. A plea agreement was reached with one convicted victim. Devine made a broader offer to several inmates. Aaron Patterson rejected the plea.
On January 10, 2003, having lost confidence in the state's penal system, outgoing Republican Governor George Ryan
commuted the death sentences of 167 prisoners on Illinois’ death row. Ryan pardoned four death row inmates: Madison Hobley, Aaron Patterson, Leroy Orange and Stanley Howard. On January 11, Ryan decided to grant clemency to all death row inmates by converting death sentence
s to sentences of life without parole in most cases and reducing some sentences. Among those pardoned were four of the ten who claimed wrongful imprisonment. In the unusual proceeding, the governor took the extraordinary step of a direct pardon release rather than a court proceeding.
Daley, at the time the Cook County
State's Attorney
, has been accused by the Illinois General Assembly of failing to act on information he possessed on the conduct of Burge and others. Daley has acknowledged his responsibility to be proactive in stopping the torture, but denies any knowledge which could have made him responsible. On July 19, 2006, US Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. issued a press release calling Mayor Daley culpable, possibly even criminally culpable, for his failure to prosecute until the statute of limitations had run out. Jackson called for an investigation to determine if there was any planned delay to allow the cases to expire. Eventually, death penalty opponents requested that U.S. President Bill Clinton
follow Ryan's lead in halting executions. In August 2000, The Illinois Supreme Court reversed or remanded two Burge-related death row cases based on allegations of torture by police.
After being pardoned by Governor Ryan, Burge's victims began to file lawsuits. Madison Hobley was the first of the four pardoned inmates to file suit in May 2003. Aaron Patterson followed in June with his own suit, and Stanley Howard filed suit in November. Eventually, the City of Chicago agreed to a $20 million settlement with the four pardoned inmates. Another result of the pardons was a series of legislative death penalty reforms that Ryan's successor Rod Blagojevich
veto
ed. By 2005, the state mandated video recording of interrogations in homicide cases. Barack Obama
had pushed the mandated video recording bill through the Illinois State Senate in 2003.
In 2002, the Cook County Bar Association
, the Justice Coalition of Chicago and others petitioned for a review of the allegations against Burge. Edward Egan, a former prosecutor, Illinois Appellate Court jurist, and semiretired lawyer who lived in Florida, was appointed as a Special State's Attorney (a/k/a "special prosecutor
") to investigate allegations dating back to 1973. He hired an assistant, several lawyers and retired Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) agents. The only prior official investigation, which resulted in Burge's firing, had been by the Office of Professional Standards, which determined that "the preponderance of evidence is that abuse did occur and that it was systematic." Former prosecutor Robert D. Boyle was also appointed as a special prosecutor. In 2003, former Chief of the Special Prosecution Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office Gordon B. Nash Jr. was appointed as an additional special prosecutor.
A total of 60 cases were ordered to be reviewed. A special prosecutor was hired because Cook County State's Attorney, Richard Devine, had a conflict of interest stemming from his tenure at the law firm of Phelan, Pope & John, which defended Burge in two federal suits. Criminal Courts Judge Paul P. Biebel Jr. presided over the determination of the need of a review to determine the propriety of criminal charges and the appointment of the special prosecutor.
During the written phase of the investigation Burge and eight other officers pled the Fifth Amendment
. On September 1, 2004, Burge was served with a subpoena
to testify before a grand jury in an ongoing criminal investigation of police torture while in town for deposition
s on civil lawsuits at his attorney's office. Burge pled the Fifth Amendment to virtually every question during a 4 hour civil case deposition. He only answered questions about his name, his boat's name (Vigilante) and his $30,000 annual pension. The City of Chicago continues to be bound by court order to pay for Burge's legal fees. The service of the subpoena was quite storied with Burge eluding servers at Midway Airport
and a team placed at his lawyers office before dawn. Eventually, several police officers were granted immunity in order to further the investigation into Burge.
Three years into the investigation no criminal charges had been filed although several civil suits were filed in federal court
. By that time, a total of 139 victims were involved in the case as were 19 investigators. Disappointment on the progress caused the victims to request the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
allot them an hour-long hearing at their October 2005 session.
On May 19, 2006 an initial ruling was made to release the special report on torture accusations. On June 20, 2006, the Illinois Supreme Court unblocked the release of the special report by Egan that took 4 years and cost $17 million. In the end 148 cases were evaluated. The investigation revealed that in three of the cases prosecutors could have proved beyond a reasonable doubt in court that torture by the police involving five former officers including Burge had occurred. Half of the claims were deemed credible, but because of the statute of limitations
no indictments were handed out. Mayor Daley and all law enforcement officials who had been deposed were excluded from the report. Also, the 75 credible abuse cases were overlooked with the report focusing on doubts about the actual torture of pardoned death row inmates. Among the final costs were $6.2 million for the investigation and $7 million to hire outside counsel for Burge and his cohorts. Although the statute of limitations argument was a disappointment to many, the argument was very elaborately detailed in an 18 page section of the report. Debates in the op-ed
pages continued for days and Egan explained his report to the public with legal theories and federal jurisdiction issues.
On the same day of the initial ruling to release the special report was made, the 36th session of the United Nations
Committee Against Torture issued its "Conclusions and recommendations of the Committee against Torture" report of the United States. The document states, "The Committee is concerned at allegations of impunity of some of the State party’s law-enforcement personnel in respect of acts of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The Committee notes the limited investigation and lack of prosecution in respect of the allegations of torture perpetrated in areas 2 and 3 of the Chicago Police Department
(art. 12). The State party should promptly, thoroughly and impartially investigate all allegations of acts of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment by law-enforcement personnel and bring perpetrators to justice, in order to fulfil its obligations under article 12 of the Convention. The State party should also provide the Committee with information on the ongoing investigations and prosecution relating to the above-mentioned case."
In 2002, Special State's Attorney (a/k/a "special prosecutor
") Egan was appointed by Judge Paul P. Biebel, Jr., Presiding Judge of the Criminal Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County, who directed Egan to investigate (and, if appropriate, prosecute) the accusations. Egan's review, which cost $17 million, revealed improprieties that resulted in no action due to the statute of limitations.
Four of Burge's death row
inmate victims—Aaron Patterson, LeRoy Orange, Stanely Howard, and Madison Hobley—filed suit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
against the City of Chicago, Burge, several of Burge's former subordinate police detectives, Cook County
, and a few current and former State's Attorney
s and assistant state's attorneys of Cook County (the precise list of police officers and prosecutors varied somewhat from plaintiff to plaintiff). Although each case was randomly assigned to a different district judge
, the parties all consented to have the four cases consolidated for discovery management before Magistrate Judge
Geraldine Soat Brown. A settlement of $19.8 million was reached in December 2007 between the plaintiffs and the so-called "city defendants" consisting of the City of Chicago, Burge, the other former detectives, and former Cook County State's Attorney (and Mayor of Chicago at the time of the settlement) Richard M. Daley
. The cases against Cook County and the other current/former prosecutors continue as of July 2008. Having never been convicted of a felony, Burge continues to receive a police pension to which he is entitled under Illinois state law.
After being fired Burge, lived in Apollo Beach, Florida
, a suburb of Tampa
. In 1994, he bought his current wood-frame home for $154,000 and a 22 ft (6.7 m) motorboat
. While a police officer Burge had owned a 40 feet (12.2 m) cabin cruiser
named The Vigilante that he maintained at Burnham Harbor. Upon retiring at full pension he ran a fishing business in Florida. The precise amount of his pension is not a matter of public record, but he was eligible for 50% of his approximately $60,000 salary.
The torture revelations led to actions to mandate videotaping
of confessions. The case has been chronicled in various formats in the mass media. The book Unspeakable Acts, Ordinary People (2001, ISBN 0520230396) by John Conroy includes four chapters on Burge's story. Also, the 1994 Public Broadcasting Service
documentary film, co-produced with Peter Kuttner, that was entitled The End of the Nightstick, analyzed the torture charges against Burge.
Although Burge had been presumed to be protected by a statute of limitations, the US Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Patrick Fitzgerald
, in October 2008 charged Burge with two counts of obstruction of justice and count of perjury. Burge was arrested on October 21, 2008 at his home in Apollo Beach by FBI agents.
Under the charges, Burge may be subject to 40 years in prison for the two obstruction counts and five years on the perjury count. The charges are the result of convicted felon Madison Hobley's 2003 civil rights lawsuit alleging police beatings, electric shocks and death threats by Burge and other officers against dozens of criminal suspects.
Burge has pleaded not guilty and been released on $250,000 bond. Fitzgerald noted that although Burge was being charged with lying and not the torture for which the statute of limitations has invalidated, he believed Burge to be guilty of both. In the October 21 press conference, Fitzgerald stated that Burge had "lied and impeded court proceedings" during his 2003 written testimony. In the indictment
, the prosecution stated that Burge understood that he was a participant in and was aware of "such events involving the abuse or torture of people in custody". The trial had been set for May 11, 2009. Instead, on April 29, Burge filed a change-of-venue motion and the trial in relation to a lawsuit filed by former Death Row inmate Madison Hobley is now set for October 29, 2009.
Also in April, Cortez Brown, who is seeking a new trial with respect to two 1990 murders and who has already subpoenaed two Chicago Police Detectives for his May 18, 2009 hearing, won the right to subpoena Burge for his hearing from a Cook County Judge. Burge was expected to exercise his 5th Amendment right not to testify against himself. However, the Florida judge refused to grant such a subpoena given the likelihood that Burge would exercise this right.
On May 6, jury selection began for the trial. 80 potential jurors were given a 29-page questionnaire to complete. Attorneys had until May 24 to review the questionnaires before final jury selection began. An additional batch of 90 potential jurors was given a questionnaire on May 17. The trial heard its first testimony on May 26. Burge testified in his own defense for six hours on June 17 and on subsequent days. Closing arguments were heard on June 24, and jury deliberations began on June 25. On June 28, Burge was convicted on all three counts: two counts of obstruction of justice and one count of perjury.
Burge was sentenced to four and a half years in federal prison on January 21, 2011 by U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow, who refused to withdraw from the case. The federal probation office had recommended a 15- to 21-month sentence, while prosecutors had requested as much as 30 years. Burge is serving his sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution Butner Low near Butner, North Carolina
, about 45 miles (72.4 km) northwest of Raleigh
, where he is Bureau of Prisons Register #50504-018. Burge's projected release date is February 14, 2015.
There are plans to file federal civil lawsuits against Burge, Daley and others.
Felon
Felon may refer to:* Someone who commits a felony* Whitlow, a purulent inflammation of the pulp of a finger* A slang term for Summer Mastitis in cows in the United Kingdom* Felon, Territoire de Belfort, a commune of the Franche-Comté region, in France...
and former Chicago Police Department
Chicago Police Department
The Chicago Police Department, also known as the CPD, is the principal law enforcement agency of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States, under the jurisdiction of the Mayor of Chicago. It is the largest police department in the Midwest and the second largest local law enforcement agency in the...
detective and commander who gained notoriety for allegedly torturing
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
more than 200 criminal suspects between 1972 and 1991, in order to force confessions. A decorated United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
veteran
Veteran
A veteran is a person who has had long service or experience in a particular occupation or field; " A veteran of ..."...
, Burge served tours in South Korea and Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
and continued as an enlisted United States Army Reserve
United States Army Reserve
The United States Army Reserve is the federal reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the reserve components of the United States Army....
soldier where he served in the military police
Military police
Military police are police organisations connected with, or part of, the military of a state. The word can have different meanings in different countries, and may refer to:...
. He then returned to the South Side of Chicago
South Side (Chicago)
The South Side is a major part of the City of Chicago, which is located in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Much of it has evolved from the city's incorporation of independent townships, such as Hyde Park Township which voted along with several other townships to be annexed in the June 29,...
and began his career as a police officer. Allegations were made about the methods of Burge and those under his command. Eventually, hundreds of similar reports resulted in a decision by Illinois Governor George Ryan
George Ryan
George Homer Ryan, Sr. was the 39th Governor of the U.S. state of Illinois from 1999 until 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party. Ryan became nationally known when in 2000 he imposed a moratorium on executions and "raised the national debate on capital punishment"...
to declare a moratorium on death penalty executions in Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
in 2000 and to clear the state's death row
Death row
Death row signifies the place, often a section of a prison, that houses individuals awaiting execution. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution , even in places where no special facility or separate unit for condemned inmates exists.After individuals are found...
in 2003.
The most controversial arrests began in February 1982, in the midst of a series of shootings of Chicago law enforcement officials in Police Area 2, whose detective squad Burge commanded. Some of the people who confessed to murder were later granted new trials and a few were acquitted or pardoned. Burge was acquitted of police brutality charges in 1989 after a first trial resulted in a hung jury
Hung jury
A hung jury or deadlocked jury is a jury that cannot, by the required voting threshold, agree upon a verdict after an extended period of deliberation and is unable to change its votes due to severe differences of opinion.- England and Wales :...
. He was suspended from the Chicago Police Department in 1991 and fired in 1993 after the Police Department Review Board ruled that he had used torture.
After Burge was fired, there was a groundswell of support to investigate his convictions. In 2002, a special prosecutor
Special prosecutor
A special prosecutor generally is a lawyer from outside the government appointed by an attorney general or, in the United States, by Congress to investigate a government official for misconduct while in office. A reasoning for such an appointment is that the governmental branch or agency may have...
began investigating the accusations. The review, which cost $17 million, revealed improprieties that resulted in no action due to the statute of limitations. Several convictions were reversed, remanded, or overturned. All Illinois death-row inmates received reductions in their sentences. Four of Burge's victims were pardoned by then-Governor Ryan and subsequently filed a consolidated suit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois is the trial-level court with jurisdiction over the northern counties of Illinois....
against the City of Chicago, various police officers, Cook County
Cook County, Illinois
Cook County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois, with its county seat in Chicago. It is the second most populous county in the United States after Los Angeles County. The county has 5,194,675 residents, which is 40.5 percent of all Illinois residents. Cook County's population is larger than...
and various State's Attorney
State's Attorney
In the United States, the State's Attorney is, most commonly, an elected official who represents the State in criminal prosecutions and is often the chief law enforcement officer of their respective county, circuit...
s. A $19.8 million settlement was reached in December 2007, with the "city defendants." Cases against Cook County and the other current/former county prosecutors continue as of July 2008. In October 2008, Patrick Fitzgerald
Patrick Fitzgerald
Patrick J. Fitzgerald is the current United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois and a member of the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Special Counsel...
had Burge arrested on charges of obstruction of justice
Obstruction of justice
The crime of obstruction of justice, in United States jurisdictions, refers to the crime of interfering with the work of police, investigators, regulatory agencies, prosecutors, or other officials...
and perjury
Perjury
Perjury, also known as forswearing, is the willful act of swearing a false oath or affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to a judicial proceeding. That is, the witness falsely promises to tell the truth about matters which affect the outcome of the...
in relation to a civil suit regarding the torture allegations against him. On April 1, 2010, Judge Joan Lefkow
Joan Lefkow
Joan Humphrey Lefkow is a United States district court judge for the Northern District of Illinois. She was nominated by President Bill Clinton on May 11, 2000, to a seat vacated by Judge Ann Claire Williams, and confirmed by the United States Senate on June 30, 2000...
postponed the trial, for the fourth time, to May 24, 2010. Burge was convicted on all counts on June 28, 2010 and sentenced to four and one half years in federal prison on January 21, 2011.
Early life
Raised in the South DeeringSouth Deering, Chicago
South Deering, one of the 77 official community areas of the City of Chicago, Illinois, is located on the far south side. It was a very industrial neighborhood, consisting of a small group of homes in the northeast corner and Lake Calumet taking up most of the remainder. It exists in the 10th Ward,...
community area
Community areas of Chicago
Community areas in Chicago refers to the work of the Social Science Research Committee at University of Chicago which has unofficially divided the City of Chicago into 77 community areas. These areas are well-defined and static...
on the Southeast side
Southeast Side, Chicago
The Southeast side of Chicago unofficially begins at about 75th Street and S. Saginaw Avenue , in other words, from Rainbow Beach southwards. It extends south and east to the city limits, generally keeping between Lake Michigan and Lake Calumet...
of Chicago, Burge was the second eldest son of Floyd and Ethel Burge. Floyd was a blue collar
Blue collar
Blue collar can refer to:*Blue-collar worker, a traditional designation of the working class*Blue-collar crime, the types of crimes typically associated with the working class*A census designation...
worker of Norwegian descent and Ethel was an aspiring fashionista
Fashionista
Fashionista or fashionistas may refer to*Fashionista , an Australian TV series*Fashionistas, an American pornographic film*The Fashionistas, minor villains in the Kim Possible series*Fashion victim, an avid follower of fashion...
of mixed Western European descent. Burge attended Bowen High School where he showed a keen interest in the school's JROTC. There he was exposed to military drill, weapons, leadership and military history
Military history
Military history is a humanities discipline within the scope of general historical recording of armed conflict in the history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, their cultures, economies and changing intra and international relationships....
. He attended the University of Missouri
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...
but dropped out after one semester, which ended his draft deferment
Conscription in the United States
Conscription in the United States has been employed several times, usually during war but also during the nominal peace of the Cold War...
. He returned to Chicago to work as a stock clerk in the supermarket chain Jewel
Jewel (supermarket)
Jewel-Osco is a supermarket chain headquartered in Itasca, Illinois, a Chicago suburb. Jewel-Osco has 182 stores across northern, central, and western Illinois; eastern Iowa; and portions of northwest Indiana.Jewel-Osco and Jewel are currently wholly owned subsidiaries of Eden Prairie,...
in 1966.
In June 1966, Burge enlisted in the army reserve
Army Reserve
Army Reserve may refer to:*Military Reserve Force*Army Reserve *United States Army Reserve...
and began six years of service, including two years of active duty
Active duty
Active duty refers to a full-time occupation as part of a military force, as opposed to reserve duty.-Pakistan:The Pakistan Armed Forces are one of the largest active service forces in the world with almost 610,000 full time personnel due to the complex and volatile nature of Pakistan's...
. He spent eight weeks at a military police
Military police
Military police are police organisations connected with, or part of, the military of a state. The word can have different meanings in different countries, and may refer to:...
(MP) school in Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
. He also received some training at Fort Benning
Fort Benning
Fort Benning is a United States Army post located southeast of the city of Columbus in Muscogee and Chattahoochee counties in Georgia and Russell County, Alabama...
, Georgia, where he learned interrogation
Interrogation
Interrogation is interviewing as commonly employed by officers of the police, military, and Intelligence agencies with the goal of extracting a confession or obtaining information. Subjects of interrogation are often the suspects, victims, or witnesses of a crime...
techniques. He volunteered for a tour of duty in the Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, but instead he became an MP trainer and then served as an MP in South Korea, gathering five letters of appreciation from superiors. On June 18, 1968, Burge volunteered for duty in Vietnam a second time, and was assigned to the Ninth Military Police Company of the Ninth Infantry Division. He reported to division headquarters, where he was assigned to provide security as a sergeant at his division base camp, which was named Dong Tam by William Westmoreland
William Westmoreland
William Childs Westmoreland was a United States Army General, who commanded US military operations in the Vietnam War at its peak , during the Tet Offensive. He adopted a strategy of attrition against the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam and the North Vietnamese Army. He later served as...
. Burge described his military police service as time spent escorting convoys, providing security for forward support bases, supervising security for the divisional central base camp in Dong Tam, and then serving a tour as a provost marshal investigator.
During his military service, Burge earned a Bronze Star
Bronze Star Medal
The Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration that may be awarded for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service. As a medal it is awarded for merit, and with the "V" for valor device it is awarded for heroism. It is the fourth-highest combat award of the...
, a Purple Heart
Purple Heart
The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York...
, the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry and two Army Commendation Medals for valor, for pulling wounded men to safety while under fire. Burge claimed no knowledge of or involvement in prisoner interrogation, brutality or torture. Burge was honorably discharged from the Army on August 25, 1969.
Police career
Burge became a police officer in March 1970 at age 22 on the South side of Chicago. In 20 years of service, he earned 13 commendations and a letter of praise from the Department of JusticeUnited States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
. In May 1972, he was promoted to detective and assigned to Area 2 (Pullman Area) robbery
Robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
. He was next promoted to field lieutenant in the Monroe Street District. From 1981–1986 he served as the commander of the Area 2 Violent Crimes
Violent crime
A violent crime or crime of violence is a crime in which the offender uses or threatens to use violent force upon the victim. This entails both crimes in which the violent act is the objective, such as murder, as well as crimes in which violence is the means to an end, such as robbery. Violent...
Unit until he was promoted to the Commander of the Bomb and Arson Unit in 1986. In 1988, Burge became Area 3 (Brighton Park) detective commander.
Turning point
Allegations exist that torture began in 1972. However, the most prominent example occurred in 1982. On February 9, 1982, there was an incident on the streets in which a suspect took a police officer's weapon, then shot and killed both the officer and his partner. This incident occurred within Burge's jurisdiction, who was then a lieutenant and commanding officer of Area 2. The two fatalities brought the total to five officers (including two Cook County Sheriff's OfficeCook County Sheriff's Office
The Cook County Sheriff's Office is a local law enforcement agency that serves Cook County, Illinois. It is the second largest Sheriff's department in the United States, with over 6,900 members. It is headed by the Sheriff of Cook County, currently Thomas Dart...
rs wounded and a rookie Chicago police officer shot and killed on a CTA
Chicago Transit Authority
Chicago Transit Authority, also known as CTA, is the operator of mass transit within the City of Chicago, Illinois and some of its surrounding suburbs....
bus on February 5) who had been shot in the 60 square miles (155.4 km²) area of the South Side within about a month.
Initial interrogation procedures allegedly included shooting pets, handcuffing questioning subjects to stationary objects for day-long time periods, and holding guns to the heads of minors. Jesse Jackson
Jesse Jackson
Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr. is an African-American civil rights activist and Baptist minister. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as shadow senator for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997. He was the founder of both entities that merged to...
, Operation PUSH spokesmen, the Chicago Defender
Chicago Defender
The Chicago Defender is a Chicago based newspaper founded in 1905 by an African American for primarily African American readers.In just three years from 1919–1922 the Defender also attracted the writing talents of Langston Hughes and Gwendolyn Brooks....
and black Chicago Police officers were outraged with techniques that were used. Renault Robinson
Renault Robinson
Renault Robinson is a former Chicago police officer and chairman of the Chicago Housing Authority under the leadership of former Chicago Mayor Harold Washington.-Biography:...
, president of Chicago's Afro American Police League characterized the dragnet operation as "sloppy police work, a matter of racism." comparing the police action to that of a southern sheriff leading a posse that turned into a lynch mob. Jackson complained that the black community was being held under martial law
Martial law
Martial law is the imposition of military rule by military authorities over designated regions on an emergency basis— only temporary—when the civilian government or civilian authorities fail to function effectively , when there are extensive riots and protests, or when the disobedience of the law...
. After all of the police excesses, mere coincidence enabled the capture of the suspects for the most recent two killings. Tyrone Sims identified Donald "Kojak" White as the shooter, and Kojak was linked to Andrew and Jackie Wilson by having committed a burglary
Burglary
Burglary is a crime, the essence of which is illicit entry into a building for the purposes of committing an offense. Usually that offense will be theft, but most jurisdictions specify others which fall within the ambit of burglary...
with them earlier on the day of the killings.
Torture methods
Andrew Wilson was arrested on the morning of February 14, 1982 for the murder of the two police officers, and by the end of the day, he was in Mercy Hospital and Medical CenterMercy Hospital and Medical Center
Mercy Hospital and Medical Center is a Catholic teaching hospital in Chicago. Established in 1852, The hospital was the first chartered hospital in Chicago. In 1859, Mercy Hospital became the first Catholic hospital to affiliate with a medical school — Lind Medical School — and the...
with lacerations on various parts of his head, including his face, chest bruises and second-degree
Burn
A burn is an injury to flesh caused by heat, electricity, chemicals, light, radiation, or friction.Burn may also refer to:*Combustion*Burn , type of watercourses so named in Scotland and north-eastern England...
thigh burns. It was clear that Wilson had received sufficient injuries to be sent to the hospital, with more than a dozen of them caused while in police custody. During a two-week trial in 1983, Andrew Wilson was convicted of the killings and given a death penalty sentence, while his brother Jackie was convicted as an accomplice and given a life sentence. In 1985, Jackie's conviction was overturned by the Illinois Appellate Court
Illinois Appellate Court
The Illinois Appellate Court is the court of first appeal for civil and criminal cases arising in the Illinois Circuit Courts. Three Illinois Appellate Court judges hear each case and the concurrence of two is necessary to render a decision. The Illinois Appellate Court will render its opinion in...
because his right to remain silent had not been properly explained. Because Andrew was given a death sentence, his case was not reviewable on the same grounds by the Appellate Court and went directly to the Illinois Supreme Court. In April 1987, the Supreme Court overturned Andrew's conviction with a ruling that he had confessed
Confession
This article is for the religious practice of confessing one's sins.Confession is the acknowledgment of sin or wrongs...
involuntarily after being beaten by the police.
In October 1987, the Appellate court further ruled the Jackie Wilson should have been tried separately from his brother and that evidence against Andrew Wilson regarding other matters for which the police wanted him was incorrectly admitted. In June 1988, Andrew was re-convicted. However, with 10 women in favor and two men opposed, the jury was unable to agree on his eligibility for the death penalty after five days of deliberation, and the following month he was granted a life sentence.
Seven years after the original arrest, Andrew filed a civil suit stating that he had been beaten, suffocated with a plastic bag, burned (by cigarette
Cigarette
A cigarette is a small roll of finely cut tobacco leaves wrapped in a cylinder of thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end and allowed to smoulder; its smoke is inhaled from the other end, which is held in or to the mouth and in some cases a cigarette holder may be used as well...
and radiator
Radiator
Radiators are heat exchangers used to transfer thermal energy from one medium to another for the purpose of cooling and heating. The majority of radiators are constructed to function in automobiles, buildings, and electronics...
), treated with electric shock
Electric shock
Electric Shock of a body with any source of electricity that causes a sufficient current through the skin, muscles or hair. Typically, the expression is used to denote an unwanted exposure to electricity, hence the effects are considered undesirable....
, and been the victim of the pattern of a cover-up. Although the suit was against four detectives, a former police superintendent and the City of Chicago, it hinged on the testimonies of plaintiff Wilson and commander Burge, who oversaw all of the alleged activity.
Jury selection commenced on February 15, 1989. The original two-woman, four-man jury included three blacks and a Hispanic. When Burge took the stand on March 13, 1989, he denied claims he injured Andrew Wilson during questioning and denied any knowledge of any such activity by other officers. Gradually, charges against other officers were dismissed. On March 15, 1989, Sergeant Thomas McKenna was cleared of wrongdoing; and on March 30, 1989, Detectives John Yucaitis and Patrick O'Hara were unanimously cleared by the jury. However, the jury was at an impasse on the Burge verdict. U.S. District Judge Brian B. Duff ordered a retrial for Burge, former Police Supt. Richard Brzeczek and the City of Chicago on two other outstanding charges (conspiracy and whether the City of Chicago's policy toward police brutality contributed to Wilson's injuries). Burge was cleared in a second nine-week trial that began on June 9, 1989.
Cattle prod
A cattle prod, also called a stock prod, is a handheld device commonly used to make cattle or other livestock move by striking or poking them, or in the case of a Hot-Shot-type prod, through a relatively high-voltage, low-current electric shock...
, a hand cranked device, and a violet wand
Violet wand
Violet wands are modern electrical sexual or kink stimulation toys. They are used for the application of low current, high voltage , high-frequency, electricity to the body...
. They allegedly used an old-style hand cranked telephone which generated electricity, and attach wires to the suspect’s genitals or face. According to veteran sergeant D. J. Lewis, this is a method of torture common in the Korean War, and usually results in a confession. Burge has denied ever witnessing such telephone torture procedures. The violet wand was said to be regularly placed either on the anus
Anus
The anus is an opening at the opposite end of an animal's digestive tract from the mouth. Its function is to control the expulsion of feces, unwanted semi-solid matter produced during digestion, which, depending on the type of animal, may be one or more of: matter which the animal cannot digest,...
, into the rectum
Rectum
The rectum is the final straight portion of the large intestine in some mammals, and the gut in others, terminating in the anus. The human rectum is about 12 cm long...
or against the victim's exposed genitals. They also used stun guns and adapted hair dryers. Burge and officers under his command also allegedly engaged in mock executions, in putting plastic bags over heads, cigarette burnings and severe beatings. At one point he is alleged to have supervised the electrical shocking of a 13 year old boy, Marcus Wiggins.
Discovery
The verdict that cleared Burge and his colleagues also found the City of Chicago employed a policy of using excessive force on suspected killers of police officers. Initial reports of torture appeared in the pages of the alternative weekly the Chicago Reader in 1990. By 1990 there was growing momentum to an effort to seek disciplinary action against Burge. An investigation conducted by Chicago Police Department's Office of Professional Standards concluded that Jon Burge and his detectives engaged in "methodical" and "systematic" torture, and "The type of abuse described was not limited to the usual beating, but went into such esoteric areas as psychological techniques and planned torture."Danny K. Davis
Danny K. Davis
For other persons named Danny Davis, please see Daniel Davis .Daniel K. Davis is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1997. He is a member of the Democratic Party.-Early life, education and career:...
turned police brutality and excessive force into a Chicago Mayoral race campaign issue for the February 26, 1991 Democratic Primary. He sought an independent citizens review. On January 28, 1991, Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
called for an investigation into police torture in Chicago. After Mayor of Chicago Richard M. Daley
Richard M. Daley
Richard Michael Daley is a United States politician, member of the national and local Democratic Party, and former Mayor of Chicago, Illinois. He was elected mayor in 1989 and reelected in 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, and 2007. He was the longest serving Chicago mayor, surpassing the tenure of his...
showed reluctance to follow the Amnesty International directive, Davis raised an issue about a police coverup. Eventually, after pressure by citizens' organizations and anti-brutality organizations an internal investigation resumed.
In 1991, Gregory Banks filed suit against Burge, three colleagues and the City of Chicago for condoning brutality and torture. The allegation was related to a false 1983 confession to murder obtained by placing a plastic bag over Banks' head, putting a gun in his mouth and other acts. There were eleven other suspects that the officers allegedly abused with brutality such as electro-shock
Electroconvulsive therapy
Electroconvulsive therapy , formerly known as electroshock, is a psychiatric treatment in which seizures are electrically induced in anesthetized patients for therapeutic effect. Its mode of action is unknown...
. The suit was brought by the same attorneys who represented Andrew Wilson in the previous 1989 brutality case. The suit described 23 incidents against black and Hispanic suspects between 1972–1985. A third suit was brought against Burge in 1993. The Banks suit named Sergeant Peter Dignan as one of the officers involved in the abusive handling. Dignan was promoted later for meritorious service despite the fact that the City of Chicago settled out of court with Banks.
In November 1991, the Chicago Police Department Office of Professional Standards, an internal review division for police misconduct, acknowledged an October 25, 1991 request for action against Burge. This type of request was a common precursor to a police dismissal and gave the City of Chicago's Corporation counsel 30 days to consider the report. Burge was suspended pending separation for 30 days starting on November 8, 1991. The Chicago Police Board set a November 25 hearing to formalize the firing of Burge and two detectives based on 30 counts of abuse and brutality against Wilson. The hearing related to the internal police investigation finding that Burge and Detective John Yucaitis physically abused Wilson in 1982, while Detective Patrick O`Hara did nothing to stop them. The suspension became controversial after the 30 day period ended and the officers remained suspended without pay. They sued for reinstatement, but their reinstatements were denied. During the hearing an internal report that had been suppressed for years revealed police review findings that criminal suspects were subjected to systematic brutality at the Area 2 detective headquarters for 12 years and that supervisory commanders had knowledge of the abuses. During the trial, several alleged victims testified against Burge.
The internal hearing concluded in March 1992, and the Chicago Police Board found Burge guilty of "physically abusing" an accused murderer 11 years earlier and ordered his firing from the police force on February 10, 1993. Detectives John Yucaitis and Patrick O'Hara, were given 15-month suspensions without pay and reinstated, which amounted to a penalty equal to time served. Upon reinstatement the two detectives were initially demoted, but almost a year later they were reinstated at full-rank with backpay for time served while demoted. Burge attempted to have the ruling overturned, but the suspension and subsequent firing was upheld.
The internal hearing resulted in a situation in which the City of Chicago was employing lawyers to defend Burge during an appeal by Wilson and a new case by Banks while employing lawyers to prosecute him on departmental charges. The City of Chicago had to hire outside counsel to prosecute the detectives at the internal hearing. After having spent $750,000 to defend Burge in the Wilson hearing, the City of Chicago was in a dilemma about whether to follow normal practices and pay for the defense of its police officers.
In 1993, Wilson was granted a new hearing by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The ruling was based on the fact that the exoneration of the officers resulted from a trial strategy to "immerse the jury in the sordid details of Wilson's crimes" rather than focus on a suspect's "right to be free from torture and the correlative right to present his claim of torture to a jury that has not been whipped into a frenzy of hatred".
Abuse-related decisions
In 1998, Bianca JaggerBianca Jagger
Bianca Jagger is a Nicaraguan-born social and human rights advocate and a former actress and model...
, Anthony Amsterdam, George N. Leighton
George N. Leighton
George Neves Leighton is a retired African-American judge.- Personal life :...
, Abner Mikva, R. Eugene Pincham
R. Eugene Pincham
R. Eugene Pincham was a pioneering African American civil rights attorney, judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, justice of the Appellate Court of Illinois, and ardent critic of the U.S. criminal justice system...
and representatives from the MacArthur Justice Center at the University of Chicago Law School
University of Chicago Law School
The University of Chicago Law School was founded in 1902 as the graduate school of law at the University of Chicago and is among the most prestigious and selective law schools in the world. The U.S. News & World Report currently ranks it fifth among U.S...
, and by the London-based International Center for Criminal Law and Human Rights called for a stay of execution
Stay of execution
A stay of execution is a court order to temporarily suspend the execution of a court judgment or other court order. The word "execution" does not necessarily mean the death penalty; it refers to the imposition of whatever judgment is being stayed....
for Aaron Patterson who was allegedly tortured into a confession.
In 1999, lawyers for several death row inmates began to call for a special review of the convictions based on evidence extracted by Burge and his colleagues. These inmates (Aaron Patterson; Madison Hobley; Stanley Howard; Leonard Kidd; Derrick King; Ronald Kitchen; Reginald Mahaffey; Jerry Mahaffey; Andrew Maxwell, and Leroy Orange) became known as the "Death Row 10". In a report called the Goldston Report, the City of Chicago enumerated 50 alleged instances of police brutality and abuse by Burge and other officers. The City of Chicago struggled with the issue of coerced confessions for decades and in the 1990s it quietly reopened several controversial brutality cases. Despite an extensive investigation into the actions by a number of police employees, few others but Burge were sanctioned.
Several politicians, including state representative Bobby Rush
Bobby Rush
Bobby Lee Rush is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1993. He is a member of the Democratic Party.The district is located principally on the South Side of Chicago. It is a minority-majority district and has a higher percentage of African Americans than any other congressional district in...
, requested that State's Attorney Richard A. Devine
Richard A. Devine
Richard A. "Dick" Devine was the State's Attorney of Cook County, Illinois, United States from 1996 to 2008. He was elected to his third term in November 2004. Devine is a graduate of Loyola Academy, Loyola University Chicago, and the Northwestern University School of Law...
seek new trials for the Death Row 10 who were allegedly tortured by Burge. Devine met with representatives and supporters of the inmates and was convinced to request that the Illinois Supreme Court stay proceedings against three of the inmates. However, the Supreme Court denied Devine's request. Rush also sought out Janet Reno
Janet Reno
Janet Wood Reno is a former Attorney General of the United States . She was nominated by President Bill Clinton on February 11, 1993, and confirmed on March 11...
to pursue federal intervention.
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
journalism professor and his students uncovered exonerating evidence on behalf of Death Row inmate Anthony Porter. The students produced four affidavits and a videotaped statement that placed the guilt on another suspect. Recantations of testimony at trial were among the affidavits obtained. One witness claimed that he named Anthony Porter after police officers threatened, harassed and intimidated him into doing so.
In 2000, Governor Ryan halted executions in Illinois after courts found 13 death row
Death row
Death row signifies the place, often a section of a prison, that houses individuals awaiting execution. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution , even in places where no special facility or separate unit for condemned inmates exists.After individuals are found...
inmate
Incarceration
Incarceration is the detention of a person in prison, typically as punishment for a crime .People are most commonly incarcerated upon suspicion or conviction of committing a crime, and different jurisdictions have differing laws governing the function of incarceration within a larger system of...
s had been wrongfully convicted. Ryan also promised to review the cases of all Illinois death row inmates. With the number of cases of alleged brutality, offers were made to allegedly coerced inmates to drop charges in exchange for reduced sentences. A plea agreement was reached with one convicted victim. Devine made a broader offer to several inmates. Aaron Patterson rejected the plea.
On January 10, 2003, having lost confidence in the state's penal system, outgoing Republican Governor George Ryan
George Ryan
George Homer Ryan, Sr. was the 39th Governor of the U.S. state of Illinois from 1999 until 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party. Ryan became nationally known when in 2000 he imposed a moratorium on executions and "raised the national debate on capital punishment"...
commuted the death sentences of 167 prisoners on Illinois’ death row. Ryan pardoned four death row inmates: Madison Hobley, Aaron Patterson, Leroy Orange and Stanley Howard. On January 11, Ryan decided to grant clemency to all death row inmates by converting death sentence
Death Sentence
Death Sentence is a short story by the American science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov. It was first published in the November 1943 issue of Astounding Science Fiction and reprinted in the 1972 collection The Early Asimov.-Plot summary:...
s to sentences of life without parole in most cases and reducing some sentences. Among those pardoned were four of the ten who claimed wrongful imprisonment. In the unusual proceeding, the governor took the extraordinary step of a direct pardon release rather than a court proceeding.
Daley, at the time the Cook County
Cook County, Illinois
Cook County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois, with its county seat in Chicago. It is the second most populous county in the United States after Los Angeles County. The county has 5,194,675 residents, which is 40.5 percent of all Illinois residents. Cook County's population is larger than...
State's Attorney
State's Attorney
In the United States, the State's Attorney is, most commonly, an elected official who represents the State in criminal prosecutions and is often the chief law enforcement officer of their respective county, circuit...
, has been accused by the Illinois General Assembly of failing to act on information he possessed on the conduct of Burge and others. Daley has acknowledged his responsibility to be proactive in stopping the torture, but denies any knowledge which could have made him responsible. On July 19, 2006, US Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. issued a press release calling Mayor Daley culpable, possibly even criminally culpable, for his failure to prosecute until the statute of limitations had run out. Jackson called for an investigation to determine if there was any planned delay to allow the cases to expire. Eventually, death penalty opponents requested that U.S. President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
follow Ryan's lead in halting executions. In August 2000, The Illinois Supreme Court reversed or remanded two Burge-related death row cases based on allegations of torture by police.
After being pardoned by Governor Ryan, Burge's victims began to file lawsuits. Madison Hobley was the first of the four pardoned inmates to file suit in May 2003. Aaron Patterson followed in June with his own suit, and Stanley Howard filed suit in November. Eventually, the City of Chicago agreed to a $20 million settlement with the four pardoned inmates. Another result of the pardons was a series of legislative death penalty reforms that Ryan's successor Rod Blagojevich
Rod Blagojevich
Rod R. Blagojevich is an American politician who served as the 40th Governor of Illinois from 2003 to 2009. A Democrat, Blagojevich was a State Representative before being elected to the United States House of Representatives representing parts of Chicago...
veto
Veto
A veto, Latin for "I forbid", is the power of an officer of the state to unilaterally stop an official action, especially enactment of a piece of legislation...
ed. By 2005, the state mandated video recording of interrogations in homicide cases. Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
had pushed the mandated video recording bill through the Illinois State Senate in 2003.
Review
Bar association
A bar association is a professional body of lawyers. Some bar associations are responsible for the regulation of the legal profession in their jurisdiction; others are professional organizations dedicated to serving their members; in many cases, they are both...
, the Justice Coalition of Chicago and others petitioned for a review of the allegations against Burge. Edward Egan, a former prosecutor, Illinois Appellate Court jurist, and semiretired lawyer who lived in Florida, was appointed as a Special State's Attorney (a/k/a "special prosecutor
Special prosecutor
A special prosecutor generally is a lawyer from outside the government appointed by an attorney general or, in the United States, by Congress to investigate a government official for misconduct while in office. A reasoning for such an appointment is that the governmental branch or agency may have...
") to investigate allegations dating back to 1973. He hired an assistant, several lawyers and retired Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
(FBI) agents. The only prior official investigation, which resulted in Burge's firing, had been by the Office of Professional Standards, which determined that "the preponderance of evidence is that abuse did occur and that it was systematic." Former prosecutor Robert D. Boyle was also appointed as a special prosecutor. In 2003, former Chief of the Special Prosecution Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office Gordon B. Nash Jr. was appointed as an additional special prosecutor.
A total of 60 cases were ordered to be reviewed. A special prosecutor was hired because Cook County State's Attorney, Richard Devine, had a conflict of interest stemming from his tenure at the law firm of Phelan, Pope & John, which defended Burge in two federal suits. Criminal Courts Judge Paul P. Biebel Jr. presided over the determination of the need of a review to determine the propriety of criminal charges and the appointment of the special prosecutor.
During the written phase of the investigation Burge and eight other officers pled the Fifth Amendment
Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which is part of the Bill of Rights, protects against abuse of government authority in a legal procedure. Its guarantees stem from English common law which traces back to the Magna Carta in 1215...
. On September 1, 2004, Burge was served with a subpoena
Subpoena
A subpoena is a writ by a government agency, most often a court, that has authority to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of subpoena:...
to testify before a grand jury in an ongoing criminal investigation of police torture while in town for deposition
Deposition (law)
In the law of the United States, a deposition is the out-of-court oral testimony of a witness that is reduced to writing for later use in court or for discovery purposes. It is commonly used in litigation in the United States and Canada and is almost always conducted outside of court by the...
s on civil lawsuits at his attorney's office. Burge pled the Fifth Amendment to virtually every question during a 4 hour civil case deposition. He only answered questions about his name, his boat's name (Vigilante) and his $30,000 annual pension. The City of Chicago continues to be bound by court order to pay for Burge's legal fees. The service of the subpoena was quite storied with Burge eluding servers at Midway Airport
Midway Airport
Chicago Midway International Airport , also known simply as Midway Airport or Midway, is an airport in Chicago, Illinois, United States, located on the city's southwest side, eight miles from Chicago's Loop...
and a team placed at his lawyers office before dawn. Eventually, several police officers were granted immunity in order to further the investigation into Burge.
Three years into the investigation no criminal charges had been filed although several civil suits were filed in federal court
United States federal courts
The United States federal courts make up the judiciary branch of federal government of the United States organized under the United States Constitution and laws of the federal government.-Categories:...
. By that time, a total of 139 victims were involved in the case as were 19 investigators. Disappointment on the progress caused the victims to request the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights is an autonomous organ of the Organization of American States .Along with the...
allot them an hour-long hearing at their October 2005 session.
On May 19, 2006 an initial ruling was made to release the special report on torture accusations. On June 20, 2006, the Illinois Supreme Court unblocked the release of the special report by Egan that took 4 years and cost $17 million. In the end 148 cases were evaluated. The investigation revealed that in three of the cases prosecutors could have proved beyond a reasonable doubt in court that torture by the police involving five former officers including Burge had occurred. Half of the claims were deemed credible, but because of the statute of limitations
Statute of limitations
A statute of limitations is an enactment in a common law legal system that sets the maximum time after an event that legal proceedings based on that event may be initiated...
no indictments were handed out. Mayor Daley and all law enforcement officials who had been deposed were excluded from the report. Also, the 75 credible abuse cases were overlooked with the report focusing on doubts about the actual torture of pardoned death row inmates. Among the final costs were $6.2 million for the investigation and $7 million to hire outside counsel for Burge and his cohorts. Although the statute of limitations argument was a disappointment to many, the argument was very elaborately detailed in an 18 page section of the report. Debates in the op-ed
Op-ed
An op-ed, abbreviated from opposite the editorial page , is a newspaper article that expresses the opinions of a named writer who is usually unaffiliated with the newspaper's editorial board...
pages continued for days and Egan explained his report to the public with legal theories and federal jurisdiction issues.
On the same day of the initial ruling to release the special report was made, the 36th session of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Committee Against Torture issued its "Conclusions and recommendations of the Committee against Torture" report of the United States. The document states, "The Committee is concerned at allegations of impunity of some of the State party’s law-enforcement personnel in respect of acts of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The Committee notes the limited investigation and lack of prosecution in respect of the allegations of torture perpetrated in areas 2 and 3 of the Chicago Police Department
Chicago Police Department
The Chicago Police Department, also known as the CPD, is the principal law enforcement agency of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States, under the jurisdiction of the Mayor of Chicago. It is the largest police department in the Midwest and the second largest local law enforcement agency in the...
(art. 12). The State party should promptly, thoroughly and impartially investigate all allegations of acts of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment by law-enforcement personnel and bring perpetrators to justice, in order to fulfil its obligations under article 12 of the Convention. The State party should also provide the Committee with information on the ongoing investigations and prosecution relating to the above-mentioned case."
In 2002, Special State's Attorney (a/k/a "special prosecutor
Special prosecutor
A special prosecutor generally is a lawyer from outside the government appointed by an attorney general or, in the United States, by Congress to investigate a government official for misconduct while in office. A reasoning for such an appointment is that the governmental branch or agency may have...
") Egan was appointed by Judge Paul P. Biebel, Jr., Presiding Judge of the Criminal Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County, who directed Egan to investigate (and, if appropriate, prosecute) the accusations. Egan's review, which cost $17 million, revealed improprieties that resulted in no action due to the statute of limitations.
Four of Burge's death row
Death row
Death row signifies the place, often a section of a prison, that houses individuals awaiting execution. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution , even in places where no special facility or separate unit for condemned inmates exists.After individuals are found...
inmate victims—Aaron Patterson, LeRoy Orange, Stanely Howard, and Madison Hobley—filed suit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois is the trial-level court with jurisdiction over the northern counties of Illinois....
against the City of Chicago, Burge, several of Burge's former subordinate police detectives, Cook County
Cook County, Illinois
Cook County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois, with its county seat in Chicago. It is the second most populous county in the United States after Los Angeles County. The county has 5,194,675 residents, which is 40.5 percent of all Illinois residents. Cook County's population is larger than...
, and a few current and former State's Attorney
State's Attorney
In the United States, the State's Attorney is, most commonly, an elected official who represents the State in criminal prosecutions and is often the chief law enforcement officer of their respective county, circuit...
s and assistant state's attorneys of Cook County (the precise list of police officers and prosecutors varied somewhat from plaintiff to plaintiff). Although each case was randomly assigned to a different district judge
United States federal judge
In the United States, the title of federal judge usually means a judge appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate in accordance with Article II of the United States Constitution....
, the parties all consented to have the four cases consolidated for discovery management before Magistrate Judge
United States magistrate judge
In the United States federal courts, magistrate judges are appointed to assist United States district court judges in the performance of their duties...
Geraldine Soat Brown. A settlement of $19.8 million was reached in December 2007 between the plaintiffs and the so-called "city defendants" consisting of the City of Chicago, Burge, the other former detectives, and former Cook County State's Attorney (and Mayor of Chicago at the time of the settlement) Richard M. Daley
Richard M. Daley
Richard Michael Daley is a United States politician, member of the national and local Democratic Party, and former Mayor of Chicago, Illinois. He was elected mayor in 1989 and reelected in 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, and 2007. He was the longest serving Chicago mayor, surpassing the tenure of his...
. The cases against Cook County and the other current/former prosecutors continue as of July 2008. Having never been convicted of a felony, Burge continues to receive a police pension to which he is entitled under Illinois state law.
After being fired Burge, lived in Apollo Beach, Florida
Apollo Beach, Florida
Apollo Beach is an unincorporated census-designated place in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. The population was 14,055 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Apollo Beach is located at ....
, a suburb of Tampa
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
. In 1994, he bought his current wood-frame home for $154,000 and a 22 ft (6.7 m) motorboat
Motorboat
A motorboat is a boat which is powered by an engine. Some motorboats are fitted with inboard engines, others have an outboard motor installed on the rear, containing the internal combustion engine, the gearbox and the propeller in one portable unit.An inboard/outboard contains a hybrid of a...
. While a police officer Burge had owned a 40 feet (12.2 m) cabin cruiser
Cabin cruiser
A cabin cruiser is a type of power boat that provides accommodation for its crew and passengers inside the structure of the craft.A cabin cruiser usually ranges in size from in length, with larger pleasure craft usually considered yachts. Many cabin cruisers can be recovered and towed with a...
named The Vigilante that he maintained at Burnham Harbor. Upon retiring at full pension he ran a fishing business in Florida. The precise amount of his pension is not a matter of public record, but he was eligible for 50% of his approximately $60,000 salary.
The torture revelations led to actions to mandate videotaping
Videotape
A videotape is a recording of images and sounds on to magnetic tape as opposed to film stock or random access digital media. Videotapes are also used for storing scientific or medical data, such as the data produced by an electrocardiogram...
of confessions. The case has been chronicled in various formats in the mass media. The book Unspeakable Acts, Ordinary People (2001, ISBN 0520230396) by John Conroy includes four chapters on Burge's story. Also, the 1994 Public Broadcasting Service
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
documentary film, co-produced with Peter Kuttner, that was entitled The End of the Nightstick, analyzed the torture charges against Burge.
Arrest
Patrick Fitzgerald
Patrick J. Fitzgerald is the current United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois and a member of the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Special Counsel...
, in October 2008 charged Burge with two counts of obstruction of justice and count of perjury. Burge was arrested on October 21, 2008 at his home in Apollo Beach by FBI agents.
Under the charges, Burge may be subject to 40 years in prison for the two obstruction counts and five years on the perjury count. The charges are the result of convicted felon Madison Hobley's 2003 civil rights lawsuit alleging police beatings, electric shocks and death threats by Burge and other officers against dozens of criminal suspects.
Burge has pleaded not guilty and been released on $250,000 bond. Fitzgerald noted that although Burge was being charged with lying and not the torture for which the statute of limitations has invalidated, he believed Burge to be guilty of both. In the October 21 press conference, Fitzgerald stated that Burge had "lied and impeded court proceedings" during his 2003 written testimony. In the indictment
Indictment
An indictment , in the common-law legal system, is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that maintain the concept of felonies, the serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that lack the concept of felonies often use that of an indictable offence—an...
, the prosecution stated that Burge understood that he was a participant in and was aware of "such events involving the abuse or torture of people in custody". The trial had been set for May 11, 2009. Instead, on April 29, Burge filed a change-of-venue motion and the trial in relation to a lawsuit filed by former Death Row inmate Madison Hobley is now set for October 29, 2009.
Also in April, Cortez Brown, who is seeking a new trial with respect to two 1990 murders and who has already subpoenaed two Chicago Police Detectives for his May 18, 2009 hearing, won the right to subpoena Burge for his hearing from a Cook County Judge. Burge was expected to exercise his 5th Amendment right not to testify against himself. However, the Florida judge refused to grant such a subpoena given the likelihood that Burge would exercise this right.
On May 6, jury selection began for the trial. 80 potential jurors were given a 29-page questionnaire to complete. Attorneys had until May 24 to review the questionnaires before final jury selection began. An additional batch of 90 potential jurors was given a questionnaire on May 17. The trial heard its first testimony on May 26. Burge testified in his own defense for six hours on June 17 and on subsequent days. Closing arguments were heard on June 24, and jury deliberations began on June 25. On June 28, Burge was convicted on all three counts: two counts of obstruction of justice and one count of perjury.
Burge was sentenced to four and a half years in federal prison on January 21, 2011 by U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow, who refused to withdraw from the case. The federal probation office had recommended a 15- to 21-month sentence, while prosecutors had requested as much as 30 years. Burge is serving his sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution Butner Low near Butner, North Carolina
Butner, North Carolina
Butner is a town in Granville County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 7,591 at the 2010 census]. Butner was managed by the state of North Carolina from 1947 through 2007. A bill passed by the North Carolina General Assembly incorporating the town was signed by Gov. Mike Easley on...
, about 45 miles (72.4 km) northwest of Raleigh
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
, where he is Bureau of Prisons Register #50504-018. Burge's projected release date is February 14, 2015.
There are plans to file federal civil lawsuits against Burge, Daley and others.
External links
- Burge archive at Chicago TribuneChicago TribuneThe Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
- Trial Begins for Ex-Chicago Police Lt. Accused of Torturing More than 100 African American Men - video report by Democracy Now!Democracy Now!Democracy Now! and its staff have received several journalism awards, including the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television; the George Polk Award for its 1998 radio documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, on the Chevron Corporation and the deaths of...
- Video: Jury Convicts Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge of Lying About Torture