Protest demands reversal of decision in Chicago police torture survivor case
Chicago, IL – In an attack on the human rights movement to stop police torture in Chicago, a Cook County judge ordered a torture survivor back to prison for life on February 14. In doing so, Judge Thomas Hennelly ignored irrefutable X-ray evidence of Gerald Reed’s torture at the hands of the infamous Jon Burge “midnight crew,” flouted the findings of the governor-appointed Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission – which affirmed Gerald’s claim of torture – and overturned the ruling of the judge formerly assigned to the case, who vacated Reed’s original conviction before retiring.
In response to Hennelly’s outrageous move, some 40 protesters occupied the hallway outside the office of the chief judge of the Cook County Circuit Court on February 25. Led by Reed’s mother, they demanded that the Chief Judge free Gerald Reed and impeach Judge Hennelly, who has a long history of denying evidence of police torture. Though the chief refused to meet with them, Reed’s supporters vowed to continue their fight.