The students are part of a Northwestern professor’s Innocence Project, which so far has helped 11 people win their freedom after long prison terms for crimes they did not commit—almost all of them, not accidentally, black males.
Prosecutors are interested in the kids’ interview notes, recordings, e-mails they sent each other and to their professor, even their course syllabi and grades! All highly relevant to the state’s Search for Truth, no doubt.
Another interpretation is that exposing the fact that innocent people are sent up by the State of Illinois for crimes they did not commit doesn’t please the judge-police-prosecutor nexus, and this act of intimidation is their way of saying, ‘Youngsters: Don’t fight City Hall’—especially its uniformed members.
The specific case that triggered the subpoena is particularly noteworthy because convict Anthony McKinney—who has now spent 31 years in jail for killing a security guard—says the cops beat the confession out of him. He was 18 at the time.
So if the Northwestern kids are right and can prove it, someone will have to face the unpleasant implication that Chicago police sometimes torture suspects. Perish the thought! Or should I say, ‘sometimes utilize enhanced interrogation techniques’?
Combined with the stonewalling by Texas Governor Rick Perry over his 2004 execution of probably innocent Todd Willingham, the Chicago machine’s over-reaction has the air of panic. Let’s contribute to it.
No comments:
Post a Comment