Big payout at long last in evil Chicago

Suborned testimony again

Two men wrongfully convicted in the 1986 rape and murder of a Rush University medical student will split an $8 million settlement in their lawsuit against the city. Larry Ollins and Omar Saunders were to each receive $4 million in the settlement, approved Wednesday by the City Council.

Alderman Ed Smith called the case a tragedy and said the money can't make up for the time the men spent in prison. "Nothing pays like having your life intact without a blemish," he said. The agreement follows settlements with two other men also wrongfully convicted in the case. In 2003, the city settled with Calvin Ollins, Larry Ollins' cousin, for $1.5 million. And in December, the city approved a $900,000 settlement with Marcellius Bradford.

All four men were arrested in the slaying of Lori Roscetti, 23, who was abducted on Chicago's West Side, raped and beaten to death in October 1986. In 1988, Saunders, Calvin and Larry Ollins were sentenced to life in prison; Bradford received a reduced sentence for agreeing to testify against Larry Ollins. All were exonerated by DNA tests in late 2001, and were pardoned the next year by then-Gov. George Ryan.

At the City Council meeting where the settlement was approved, Alderman Tom Allen said he served as Saunders' defense attorney at his criminal trial. Allen said when he recently looked through the case file, he saw that he had filed a motion asking for DNA testing to be performed. The motion was denied. "The criminal justice system did finally work," Allen said. "It was through DNA evidence that these gentlemen finally got their lives back."

In 2004, Eddie Harris and Duane Roach pleaded guilty to raping and killing Roscetti. Officials have said DNA testing confirmed the two men committed the crime.

Jenny Hoyle, spokeswoman for the city's law department, said there were a number of reasons Saunders and Larry Ollins will receive much more money than their former co-defendants, including the fact that the amount was recommended by a federal mediator. Also, she said, the two were only charged in the slaying of Roscetti after they were implicated by Bradford and Calvin Ollins in their confessions to Chicago police. Bradford and Calvin Ollins have said their confessions were coerced.

Also Wednesday, the City Council approved, without discussion, a $5.25 million settlement with the estate of a paralyzed Chicago man who was shot and killed when he did not obey police orders to get out of his car. City officials agreed to the settlement after a federal court jury in February found Officer Anthony Blake liable for the August 2003 shooting of 20-year-old Cornelius Ware.

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