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False Arrest Settlement in Chicago

By TChris, Section Innocence Cases
Posted on Tue Sep 20, 2005 at 07:43:26 AM EST
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by TChris

Chicago police claimed that two boys, ages 7 and 8, confessed to the murder and sexual abuse of Ryan Harris in 1998. A month after they were arrested, DNA testing established that the kids didn't commit the crime. One of the Chicago detectives who extracted the confessions has a history of persuading children to confess to crimes they didn't commit.

As TalkLeft reported here, one of the kids settled his wrongful arrest lawsuit in January for $2 million. On Monday, several weeks after the start of a trial that wasn't going well for the City, the other boy settled for $6.2 million. Some of the settlement proceeds will be used to pay for the boy's therapy.

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    False Arrest Settlement in Chicago | 4 comments (4 topical)
    Re: False Arrest Settlement in Chicago (none / 0) (#1)
    by jen on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:04:05 PM EST
    How many false confessions extracted from children does it take to take a cop off such cases? For that matter, doesn't the chicago police department have annual evaluations?? I'd like to work for them, you can screw up and cost the city money and they still keep you on doing the same job!!

    Re: False Arrest Settlement in Chicago (none / 0) (#2)
    by cpinva on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:04:06 PM EST
    i have a more basic question: why hasn't this detective been charged criminally? he's perpetrated a fraud on the court, multiple times and, if he testified, perjury. forget about firing him, he should be behind bars.

    Re: False Arrest Settlement in Chicago (none / 0) (#3)
    by Nowonmai on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:04:07 PM EST
    Why is this cop still working for the Chi Police? Coercing children to falsely confess to heinous crimes is beyond dispicable. The crud should be jailed.

    Re: False Arrest Settlement in Chicago (none / 0) (#4)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:04:07 PM EST
    $6.2 million??? Where do I sign up to be arrested by this detective? Now that I have that out of my system, I agree, this cop should be charged or at least fired but $6.2 million is WAY over the top. These kids were victims and deserve REASONABLE compensation. The tax payers of Chicago, who are secondary victims of this detective, should demand his badge!

    False Arrest Settlement in Chicago | 4 comments (4 topical)