Report: Chicago Is False Confession Capital
News magazine "60 Minutes" labeled Chicago the "false confession capital" of the United States Sunday in a segment featuring several men who claimed they were coerced by police detectives into signing confessions for crimes they didn't commit.
Screenshot via CBS News.
News magazine "60 Minutes" labeled Chicago the "false confession capital" of the United States Sunday in a segment featuring several men who claimed they were coerced by police detectives into signing confessions for crimes they didn't commit.
The segment featured Terrill Swift, Michael Saunders, Harold Richardson, and Vincent Thames—known as the "Englewood Four." They had their convictions for a 1994 murder overturned last year, after DNA evidence cleared them of guilt, reports CBS Chicago.
In the segment, called "The False Confession Capital," the news magazine reported that Chicago has "twice as many documented false confession cases as any city in the country."
"60 Minutes" also questioned the way police handle interrogations, yet didn't provide many specifics about the particular tactics used. Also, Chicago Police Department officials weren't quoted in the segment. The magazine did provide an interview with a Chicago prosecutor who defended detectives.
In a statement obtained by POLICE Magazine, Police Supt. Garry McCarthy said he has "zero tolerance for misconduct, and the cases being referenced occurred nearly two decades ago and do not reflect the present day actions of the men and women of the Chicago Police Department."
McCarthy also said the department has implemented new training protocols to "ensure nothing of this nature ever happens again."
The segment reported that the Department of Justice has opened a probe into the department over the matter.
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