Probe: Black Chicago suspects tortured

[tocqueville]

By DON BABWIN, Associated Press Writer
27 minutes ago

CHICAGO - Chicago police beat, kicked, shocked or otherwise tortured scores of black suspects from the 1970s to the early 1990s to try to extract confessions from them, prosecutors reported Wednesday.

However, the prosecutors — appointed by a Cook County judge four years ago to look into torture allegations — said that the cases are too old or too weak to prosecute anyone now.

Prosecutors Robert D. Boyle and Edward Egan said they found evidence that police abused at least half the 148 suspects whose cases were reviewed. Nearly all of the suspects were black.

Among other things, the suspects claimed that police beat them, played mock Russian roulette, administered electric shocks with a cattle prod-like device and a crank-operated "black box," and threw typewriter covers over their heads to make them gasp for air.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060719/ap_on_re_us/police_torture;_ylt=Ap_ySzsp0G_btzBzar5vwSFI2ocA;_ylu=X3oDMTA5aHJvMDdwBHNlYwN5bmNhdA--

[AlamoDemoc]

1. Democracy NOW had program of this while ago and I was shocked

that no other major news organization had written or cvovered about this.

[spanone]

2. Ain't that America....

NPR did a report on it this afternoon. Said all statutes of limitations had run out so there was basically nothing to be done.

Years ago (71?) I helped my brother move to Chicago to work with Cesar Chavez and the farm workers. We got into Chicago in a snow storm, freezing cold, with a u-haul truck. We turned into an empty one-way street by mistake and realized it immediately and pulled over, just then a Chicago cop came up behind us and gave me some real shit about it. No ticket, but when I told him my brother was moving here and we were from out of state, he said 'Chicago don't need no more people'.
It was a lovely welcome.