Judge grants new trial to Chicago man

A prisoner who claims he was tortured by police into confessing to murders he didn't commit has been granted a new trial after 18 years behind bars.

Circuit Judge Clayton Crane granted the new trial Friday to 38-year-old Victor Safforld. Safforld formerly went by the name Cortez Brown. He claims he was tortured by Chicago detectives working under South Side violent crimes Commander Jon Burge.

Chicago police subsequently fired Burge and he now faces federal charges of his own.

The judge's ruling was made following a hearing earlier this week on evidence that Safforld was tortured. He was sentenced to death but that sentence was later commuted to life.