Chicago man sues Daley, Burge for wrongful conviction

A man who spent more than two decades in prison after police allegedly used torture to extract a false confession has sued former Chicago police Cmdr. Jon Burge, his detectives and Mayor Richard M. Daley.

Ronald Kitchen insisted on Thursday that his lawsuit is "not about the money." "It's about making those who were supervising and overseeing the city of Chicago take notice," Kitchen said, a day after his suit was filed in federal court.

Kitchen was exonerated last year after spending 21 years in prison — 13 of them on death row — for the 1988 slaying of two women and three children inside their South Side bungalow.

While he was in prison his brother and other relatives died, his son grew up without a father and his mother, his greatest champion, developed dementia and does not even understand her son is now free, Kitchen said. "She was my sole fighter," Kitchen said. "When I go down to Alabama to see my mother, she don't even know I'm there. That's another blow."

According to the lawsuit, Kitchen was arrested on a false tip from a jailhouse informant, then spent 16 hours at Area 3 police headquarters. He was deprived of food and sleep while detectives beat him with their fists, a phone book, a telephone receiver and struck him in the genitals with a nightstick. He was injured badly enough to require medical treatment, the suit states.

The lawsuit accuses Daley, both when he was Cook County state's attorney and as mayor, of participating in a conspiracy to cover up torture. The suit claims Daley had ample evidence that Burge and others were using torture to obtain confessions but did nothing to prosecute the officers and belittled reports that found abuse had occurred.

Further, it alleges that Daley approved the decision to seek the death penalty against Kitchen and others, despite widespread allegations that Burge and his so-called "Midnight Crew" acted illegally.

The city's Law Department has not reviewed the lawsuit and had no comment on specific allegations, department spokesman Jennifer Hoyle said.

"However, to the extent that there are any claims against Mayor Daley, it is important to note that Jon Burge was an employee in good standing at the Chicago Police Department under previous mayoral administrations, and was fired during Mayor Daley's tenure," Hoyle said. "We strongly dispute any allegation that the mayor was involved in a conspiracy."

On Monday, Burge was convicted by a federal jury of perjury and obstruction for lying in written statements, taken in an earlier lawsuit, in which he denied knowing about or using torture to force confessions from suspects.

Burge also is a defendant in two other pending federal lawsuits filed by James Andrews and Darrell Cannon, who both allege they were tortured while under Burge's control.

To date, the city has spent more than $10 million in legal fees defending Burge and other detectives in civil court, and has paid out more than $21 million in settlements to alleged victims of torture.

Original report here



(And don't forget your ration of Wicked Thoughts for today. Now hosted on Wordpress. If you cannot access it, go to the MIRROR SITE, where posts appear as well as on the primary site. I have reposted the archives (past posts) for Wicked Thoughts HERE or HERE or here