PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The Charles Smith Blog is interested in false confessions because of the disturbing number of exonerations in the USA, Canada and multiple other jurisdictions throughout the world, where, in the absence of incriminating forensic evidence the conviction is based on self-incrimination – and because of the growing body of scientific research showing how vulnerable suspects (especially juveniles) are to widely used interrogation methods such as the notorious ‘Reid Technique.’
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;
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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "The felony charges wiped out yesterday typically were drug cases,
convictions that landed the defendants in prison for a few years.
Leonard Gipson, 36, was convicted twice on charges in which Watts
planted drugs on him, after, Gipson said, he refused to give cash to
Watts. “Every time I ran into him, he put drugs on me,” said Gipson.
“Everyone knows, if you’re not going to pay Watts, you’re going to
jail.” Gipson, who had claimed in court that he’d been framed, and only
pleaded guilty after a judge ruled he had no proof Watts had planted
drugs on him. Gipson also had filed a complaint about Watts with the
CPD, which went nowhere. “Everyone knew what he was doing.” Since filing
his petition in April, Tepfer said he has been contacted
by dozens of others who have made similar allegations against Watts.
Tepfer has estimated hundreds of cases handled by Watts and officers who
reported to him, are bogus. Watts and his subordinate officers
routinely hung felony cases on residents of the complex as retribution
against those who resisted when he demanded cash, or if they filed
complaints against him. Watts’ officers would plant drugs and falsify
reports to make the charges stick, Tepfer said."
STORY: "Convictions vacated for 15 framed by corrupt cop Ronald Watts," by reporter Andy Grimm, published by The Chicago Sun-Times on November 19, 2017.
GIST: "A Cook County judge Thursday vacated felony convictions
for 15 defendants who claimed they were framed by disgraced Chicago
Police Sgt. Ronald Watts, following a landmark decision by the State’s
Attorney’s Office to toss aside a string of cases over allegations of
police misconduct. With
10 of the defendants standing in the courtroom, Chief Criminal Courts
Judge Judge LeRoy K. Martin approved a motion by prosecutors to throw
out a total of 18 cases against 15 men who were arrested by Watts and
members of a tactical team that operated in the Ida B. Wells housing
projects. After the hearing, attorney Joshua Tepfer said the move by State’s
Attorney Kim Foxx marked the first “mass exoneration” in the history of
Cook County. “It’s
an extraordinary sign of what’s going on in this county and this city
to have a…crucial law enforcement entity take this step and overturn all
these convictions in recognition of a systemic problem of police
corruption,” he said. Mark Rotert, head of Foxx’s Conviction Integrity Unit, said the
office could not stand behind the cases after reviewing claims brought
by the 15 defendants, who said Watts and his fellow officers planted
evidence and filed false reports. “In these cases, we concluded, unfortunately, that police were not
being truthful and we could not have confidence in the integrity of
their reports and their testimony,” Rotert said. “So in good conscience,
we could not see these convictions stand.” The decision by the state’s attorney to toss the convictions was first reported by Sun-Times columnist Michael Sneed. Lawyers for the University of Chicago’s Exoneration Project two
months ago filed a petition to throw out convictions in 18 cases brought
against the 15 defendants, mostly drug charges in which they claim they
were shaken down by Watts and officers under his command. Watts and fellow officer Kallatt Mohammed in 2013 pleaded guilty to
stealing $5,200 from an FBI informant. Two of the men exonerated
Thursday were currently jailed on unrelated cases, Tepfer said. Watts could not be reached for comment. The
hearing, coincidentally, came during a whirlwind 72-hour span that had
seen two men released from prison after spending decades in prison based
on claims they had been framed by other Chicago Police officers.Tuesday, prosecutors dropped their case against Arthur Brown, who had
spent 29 years in prison for a deadly 1988 arson fire, and Wednesday,
Jose Maysonet walked out of the Cook County Jail after spending 27 years
jailed for a 1990 double-murder. The State’s Attorney’s Office said
they were troubled by discrepancies in the evidence in Brown’s case.
Prosecutors said they were unable to move forward with their case
against Maysonet after five CPD officers refused to testify under oath
about allegations Maysonet was beaten into confessing. Police Board President Lori Lightfoot said Thursday the fact that “so
many Chicago Police officers asserted their Fifth Amendment rights” to
avoid testifying under oath is a “horrible, unacceptable circumstance
that must be addressed immediately.” She added: “All of the efforts that we are are trying to undertake to
reform the police department and bridge the gap between police and the
community will be negatively affected if officers who commit crimes and
admit to it are able to walk away with impunity.” Foxx,
who took office last year after beating incumbent Anita Alvarez with a
campaign that pledged to reform the county’s criminal justice system,
had said earlier this year her office was reviewing cases handled by
Watts’ team. The felony charges wiped out yesterday typically were drug cases,
convictions that landed the defendants in prison for a few years.
Leonard Gipson, 36, was convicted twice on charges in which Watts
planted drugs on him, after, Gipson said, he refused to give cash to
Watts. “Every time I ran into him, he put drugs on me,” said Gipson. “Everyone knows, if you’re not going to pay Watts, you’re going to
jail.” Gipson, who had claimed in court that he’d been framed, and only
pleaded guilty after a judge ruled he had no proof Watts had planted
drugs on him. Gipson also had filed a complaint about Watts with the
CPD, which went nowhere. “Everyone knew what he was doing.” Since filing his petition in April, Tepfer said he has been contacted
by dozens of others who have made similar allegations against Watts.
Tepfer has estimated hundreds of cases handled by Watts and officers who
reported to him, are bogus. Watts and his subordinate officers
routinely hung felony cases on residents of the complex as retribution
against those who resisted when he demanded cash, or if they filed
complaints against him. Watts’ officers would plant drugs and falsify
reports to make the charges stick, Tepfer said. Tepfer and other civil rights lawyers had pressed Alvarez, to appoint
a “special master” to consider clearing defendants in possibly hundreds
of arrests made by Watts and officers who worked in his unit. Rotert
declined to give details on the “exacting process” of reviewing cases. “Cases have to be evaluated individually and on their own facts. I’ll
take a look at any case that anyone wants to bring that they believe is
affected by corruption,” Rotert said. “But rather than pre-judge it,
I’m going to tell you what I think after I’ve reviewed all the
evidence.” The latest blow to law enforcement in Chicago comes at a time when
Mayor Rahm Emanuel is investing $27.4 million in police reform. The
mayor finalized that 2018 investment without consulting Illinois
Attorney General Lisa Madigan, with whom he is supposed to be
negotiating a consent decree culminating in the appointment of a federal
monitor to ride herd over the Chicago Police Department. “When you have such high-profile actions by officers who acknowledge
criminal conduct, it’s a significant blow. There’s no sugar-coating it,”
Lightfoot said. “These officers bring shame upon their fellow officers who work very
hard to do their jobs the right way in compliance with the Constitution
and the law.”
The entire story can be found at:
https://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-politics/states-attorney-vacates-convictions-for-cases-tied-to-corrupt-cop-ronald-watts/amp/The entire story can be found at:
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/c
