Judge denies innocence certificate to freed man

A Chicago man who's rape conviction was overturned after he spent 31 years in prison has been denied a "certificate of innocence" by a Cook County judge.

Judge Thomas Byrne ruled Thursday there was "substantial evidence" Stanley Wrice participated in a Sept. 9, 1982 sexual assault. Wrice's conviction was overturned by a judge in December and he was ordered released. The judge noted Wrice's claim he was tortured by police into confessing was credible.

Byrne said the recantation of two witnesses that implicated the 60-year-old Wrice were "threadbare, untimely and untrustworthy." He also noted it was absurd to believe Wrice didn't notice a woman was being tortured, burned and gang raped in his bedroom while he was home.

Wrice called the denial of the certificate a dagger to the heart.