tagged w/ Wrongful Conviction
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Prosecutors indicting DNA samples to overturn wrongful convictions.
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A man convicted of a murder now linked to suspected serial killer Walter E. Ellis plans a news conference Thursday to announce a civil rights lawsuit against the Milwaukee Police Department.
Chaunte Ott spent 13 years in prison for the 1995 murder of Jessica Payne, a 16-year-old runaway from South Milwaukee, before his release earlier this year when investigators linked DNA from the case to Ellis. Police said they believe Ellis had sex with Payne but that someone else killed her.
Ott, 35, of Milwaukee, is now represented by Loevy & Loevy, a Chicago law firm that specializes in civil rights cases over matters such as wrongful convictions and police brutality. The firm plans a 1 p.m. news conference at the federal courthouse in Milwaukee.
According to a release from the law firm, the suit will claim that police coerced witnesses to testify falsely against Ott, and withheld information from real witnesses who had seen Payne shortly before her death.
Milwaukee police did not have an immediate response to the claims.
*** Info on the release ***
A Milwaukee man serving a life term in the murder of a South Milwaukee runaway was released from prison Thursday after tests showed DNA found on the victim matched unknown DNA discovered on two other slaying victims in Milwaukee.
The Milwaukee County district attorney's office decided not to petition the state Supreme Court to review the case, paving the way for the release of Chaunte D. Ott, 35, from the Columbia Correctional Institution in Portage.
Dressed in prison-issued light gray sweat pants, T-shirt and work boots, Ott embraced his family outside the prison Thursday afternoon.
"It's a dream come true. It's a beautiful thing," said a smiling Ott after he donned a Brewers sweat shirt while surrounded by his mother, sister, nieces and nephews.A man convicted of a murder now linked to suspected serial killer Walter E. Ellis... more
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KSirys
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3 months ago
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This documents police abusing their power, killing people with tasers, and over stepping their authority. Rare footage and other scenes make for a riveting but gut wrenching account of the tyranny that is looming over American life. If you think you are free than you need to watch Brutal RealityThis documents police abusing their power, killing people with tasers, and over... more
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KSirys
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3 months ago
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On Tuesday, July 07, 2009, 43-year-old Ronald Kitchen, who confessed under extreme physical duress to a taking part in five murders 21 years ago, was exonerated and freed from prison. The confession was extracted by Detective Michael Kill, who worked under Commander Jon Burge. Kitchen spent thirteen of his 21 years behind bars on death row.
Of 224 men and women sentenced to death under the current Illinois death penalty law, which was enacted in 1977, 20 have now been exonerated and released—an error rate of nearly 9 percent.On Tuesday, July 07, 2009, 43-year-old Ronald Kitchen, who confessed under extreme... more
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savory
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5 months ago
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Thaddeus Jimenez ("TJ") was exonerated on May 1, 2009 through the work of the Center on Wrongful Convictions. TJ is the youngest person at the time of his arrest ever to be exonerated in Illinois and likely in all of the United States. In 1993, he was 13 years old and sentenced to 50 years as an adult for a crime he did not commit.
This short video features interviews with TJ's lawyers, as well as footage of him leaving prison and seeing his mother for the first time as a free manThaddeus Jimenez ("TJ") was exonerated on May 1, 2009 through the work of the Center... more
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savory
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7 months ago
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Movie description>>"Based on true events during the 2000 election, AMERICAN VIOLET tells the astonishing story of Dee Roberts (critically hailed newcomer Nicole Beharie), a 24 year-old African American single mother of four young girls living in a small Texas town who is barely able to make ends meet.
While police drag Dee from work in handcuffs, dumping her in the squalor of the women’s county prison, the powerful local district attorney (Academy Award® nominee Michael O’Keefe) leads an extensive drug bust, sweeping her housing project with military precision. Dee soon discovers she has been charged as a drug dealer.
Even though Dee has no prior drug record and no drugs were found on her in the raid, she is offered a hellish choice: plead guilty and go home as a convicted felon or remain in prison, jeopardizing her custody and risking a long prison sentence.
She chooses to fight the district attorney and the unyielding criminal justice system, risking everything in a battle that forever changes her life and the Texas justice system. AMERICAN VIOLET also stars Academy Award® nominee Alfre Woodard, Emmy Award® winner Charles S. Dutton, Tim Blake Nelson, Will Patton and Xzibit.
NOTE: American Violet was initially inspired by an NPR story by Wade Goodwyn.
That was six years ago. Much of the film was informed by thousands of pages of information provided on a range of stories by the ACLU among others. A variety of media reports and legal documents, including sworn testimony, depositions and affidavits, all of which can be found on the public record also helped us find authentic patterns and voices for our storytelling. Finally, taped interviews with community members who had experienced circumstances similar to those outlined in our work proved useful.
However, American Violet is not a documentary. It is a narrative feature film that is, as it says, based on true events. Some scenes and characters have been fictionalized for dramatic effect and have no relationship to the historical record. Names have been changed to protect the innocent and also to protect this film."Movie description>>"Based on true events during the 2000 election, AMERICAN VIOLET... more
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Since 1998, the Center on Wrongful Convictions has been dedicated to identifying and rectifying wrongful convictions and other serious miscarriages of justice.
Narrated by the Center's co-founder and executive director, Rob Warden, this short video highlights the Center's past accomplishments and points to the future of reform.
See if you can spot in the video President-elect Obama and friend of the Center Barack Obama.
Footage from Laurie Feldman's documentary The Innocent, and Rob Hess and News@Northwestern.
Photo credits: Loren Santow and Jennifer Linzer.Since 1998, the Center on Wrongful Convictions has been dedicated to identifying and... more
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savory
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1 year ago
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Since Johnnie Lee Savory was released from prison, he has been organizing with other unjustly convicted people, including many of the survivors of former Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge's regime of torture.
For decades these survivors have cried out for justice, and finally, on October 21, 2008, their calls were heard when U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald arrested Burge for his crimes.
In this video, some of the survivors talk about what happened to them and their continuing fight for justice.
Since Johnnie Lee Savory was released from prison, he has been organizing with other... more
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savory
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1 year ago
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In 1977, when Johnnie Lee Savory was 14, he was falsely accused and unjustly convicted for killing his best friend and his best friend's sister in their hometown of Peoria, Illinois. With the help of the Center on Wrongful Convictions and the support of groups like the Innocent Project, he was recently paroled and released in late 2006, after spending 30 years in prison.
In this video, Johnnie describes how the results of his first trial were thrown out, but he was convicted a second time when the prosecution manufactured a case against him.In 1977, when Johnnie Lee Savory was 14, he was falsely accused and unjustly convicted... more
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savory
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1 year ago
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Johnnie Lee Savory spent 30 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. In this clip, Johnnie talks about how he finds the strength to fight back.Johnnie Lee Savory spent 30 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. In this... more
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savory
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1 year ago
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Johnnie Lee Savory describes how he was unjustly convicted at 14 and sentenced to 50-100 years. To find out more about Johnnie Lee Savory, go to his blog at http://justiceforsavory.windycitizen.comJohnnie Lee Savory describes how he was unjustly convicted at 14 and sentenced to... more
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savory
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1 year ago
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When Johnnie Lee Savory was 14, he was falsely accused and unjustly convicted of a double homicide in his hometown of Peoria, Illinois. With the help of Northwestern University's Center on Wrongful Convictions, he was recently granted clemency and released after 30 years in prison.
Though a free man today, society still considers Savory an ex-felon, which is why he is asking Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich to order DNA testing of the evidence that was used to convict him, which Peoria State's Attorney refuses to do.
In this video, Johnnie Lee Savory describes how he was tortured into making a false, unsigned confession. This confession was later used to sentence him to 50-100 years in prison. To learn more about Johnnie's story, and how you can join his fight, go to his blog: http://justiceforsavory.windycitizen.com/When Johnnie Lee Savory was 14, he was falsely accused and unjustly convicted of a... more
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savory
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1 year ago
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Steve Drizin tells the story of Johnnie Lee Savory, a man who spent 30 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Mr. Drizin is the director of Northwestern University School of Law's Center on Wrongful Conviction and helped win Johnnie's parole. This video was filmed at a Rainbow Push Coalition Saturday Morning Forum.Steve Drizin tells the story of Johnnie Lee Savory, a man who spent 30 years in prison... more
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1 year ago
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Since 1991, 218 people have been exonerated through DNA testing, and in more than three-quarters of the cases, mistaken eyewitness identifications were crucial in the wrongful convictions.
In the midst of being raped, Jennifer Thompson-Cannino told herself to pay attention to details that would allow her to identify her attacker.
She was able to give police in North Carolina a description that led to a sketch of the suspect. Then she identified a man from photographs, picked him out of a lineup and told jurors she was certain he was the rapist.
That man, Ronald Cotton, received a life sentence and spent more than 10 years in prison before DNA testing cleared him of the crime.
Now victim and the innocent man she helped convict are writing a book together.
Thompson-Cannino, who is white, had mistakenly picked out one black man; another was guilty of the crime.
"Between the composite sketch and the photo identification, I had messed it up," she said, recalling the 1984 rape and its aftermath. "By the time I got to the physical lineup, Ron Cotton had become my attacker and that was that."
And as she came to learn, she was not the only one to make a mistake so devastating that it deprived someone else of his freedom.
Since 1991, 218 people have been exonerated through DNA testing, and in more than... more
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