Class status sought for alleged torture victims
Lawyers want a judge to grant class status to prisoners who may have been tortured into giving false confessions by Chicago police.
The Chicago Sun-Times reports attorney Locke Bowman estimates that about 40 people are falsely imprisoned in Illinois after being tortured by police under the watch of former Chicago Police Cmdr. Jon Burge.
Bowman asked Cook County Judge Paul Biebel to grant class status Monday, saying it’s the easiest way to determine how many prisoners were tortured.
Prosecutors oppose the request, saying potential victims don’t have enough in common to be lumped in one class.
Burge is serving a 4 ½-year federal sentence for lying about the torture.
A judge last week cited alleged torture in releasing a man who spent 30 years in prison for rape.