In 2012 then CBS News 60 Minutes correspondent Byron Pitts came to Chicago to explore the peculiar distinction of Chicago as the capital of false confessions. In that report he interviewed seven men, known now as the Englewood Four and the Dixmoor Five who as teens were convicted of rape
All persons are entitled to full and complete information regarding the affairs of government and the official acts and policies of those who represent them as public officials. So reads the first line of the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, making it among the most progressive laws in the country
After a circuit court judge vacated the conviction of man who has spent the last 11 years behind bars based upon advice that the state's attorney's office would dismiss the case, the Fraternal Order of Police said that it would push for him to be reindicted
Training a solutions journalism lens on wrongful convictions in Illinois Today I pressed the publish button on the first edition of the Cook County Courtroom Observer, a newsletter that aims to train a solutions journalism lens on the problem of wrongful convictions in Illinois. It’s a project that I’
Supporters for Kevin Jackson quietly left the courtroom after listening to a three-judge appellate panel question oral arguments Tuesday over whether or not to free Kevin Jackson, who has spent more than half of his life in prison for a crime he and one of the victims says he didn&
In a call to action outgoing Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx says the county needs to develop better models for not only reviewing wrongful conviction cases but also preventing them from happening in the first place. "We need to prevent wrongful convictions," Foxx said to
If Marcel Brown insisted on his innocence, he would go to prison. But if he confessed to involvement in a murder he didn't commit, he would be allowed to go home. That's what police and prosecutors told the 18-year-old hungry and sleep deprived teen in September
Chicago activists will continue efforts to lobby Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx to vacate more wrongful convictions before she leaves office in December. "What we want them to know is we're not going to stop," said Jasmine Smith, co-chair of the Campaign to
Kim Foxx says Illinois should create a commission to explore its dubious distinction as the state that leads the nation in vacating wrongful convictions. Since becoming the top prosecutor in Cook County in 2017 Foxx's office has vacated 253 convictions resulting in Illinois becoming the state with the
Delegates were visibly moved on night four of the Democratic National Convention when Korey Wise along with three men who were wrongfully convicted as teenagers in New York City in 1990 took to the stage to speak about their experiences of serving time for a crime that they didn'
Before she leaves office in December, community activists and family members ask outgoing Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx to release as many as 300 people who say they have been wrongfully convicted. 0:00 /5:09 1×
As the country celebrates its independence this week some people incarcerated in the two dozen prisons in Illinois are fighting wrongful convictions. False confessions, misleading evidence and official misconduct are among the main reasons they are serving time behind bars, according to the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern Pritzker