"Free them all. Free them now."

Cassie M. Chew

Oct 8, 2024 — 1 min read

Activists Jasmine Smith of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression and A'Keisha Lee of MAMAS Activating Movements for Abolition and Solidarity lead a rally outside of Cook County States Attorney's Office on September 30. Credit: The Observer

"Free them all. Free them now!"

That was the cry heard in front of the Cook County State's Attorney's Office Sept. 30 at a rally to ask outgoing top prosecutor Kim Foxx to "leave the office with a bang" by vacating the convictions of about three dozen people who have maintained, since they were arrested decades ago, that they were wrongfully convicted.

Some still are incarcerated. Others spent several decades in prison based upon a felony conviction the Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission, an independent group that formed in 2009 now says was tainted by police torture and prosecutorial misconduct.

Even so, post-conviction cases continue to drag on – still being litigated in the circuit and appellate courts. On Oct. 7 an appellate court panel told a circuit court judge who had tried to uphold the conviction of Kevin Jackson to release him after Foxx's office reviewed the evidence and signaled it would no longer pursue a case against Jackson.

"They have the same evidence of torture. So why are these men still suffering? Why do they have to keep fighting?," Jasmine Smith of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist Political Repression said on Sept. 30. "Kim Foxx do what you need to do to sign off and get these cases thrown out," Jasmine Smith said.

Activists Jasmine Smith and A'Keisha Lee read list of 35 names of people who Kim Foxx should exonerate before leaving the State's Attorney's Office in December.

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