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Prosecutors in Chicago on Monday threw out first-degree murder charges against a man who spent more than 22 years in prison, and moved to vacate a murder sentence in a separate case against another man who spent 23 years in prison in the face of fierce scrutiny of two Chicago Police Department officers whose work has come under a dark cloud.
In the first case, Anthony Jakes, 41, was 15 when he said he was beaten by Chicago Detective Michael Kill and coerced by Detective Kenneth Boudreau, both who worked for Commander Jon Burge, to confess to the 1991 murder of Rafael Garcia outside a sandwich shop on Chicago's southwest side.
Chicago has already spent about $100 million in paying out settlements to victims of Burge or Chicago cops connected to him. Burge and cops under his command have faced dozens of allegations of torturing and beating mostly African-American suspects.
The statute of limitations ran out on his alleged crimes, but Burge was convicted in 2010 of perjury in civil proceedings for lying about mistreatment of suspects he oversaw. The ex-cop spent less than four years in prison.
In 2015, Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced a $5.5 million reparations package to alleged victims of Burge.
In a brief hearing Monday, special prosecutor Robert Milan said that after conducting a three-month review of the Jakes' prosecution, he came to the conclusion that the evidence that was used to convict the teen at a trial in 1993 fell short of meeting the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt and asked the case to be dismissed.
In the second case, a Cook County judge agreed to vacate the conviction of Robert Bouto, 42, for a 1993 shooting death outside a Chicago high school after prosecutors agreed that Bouto deserved a new trial. Bouto, 42, spent nearly 23 years in prison before he was paroled in 2016. Bouto, 17 when he was arrested, was sentenced to 45 years in prison.
In the first case, Anthony Jakes, 41, was 15 when he said he was beaten by Chicago Detective Michael Kill and coerced by Detective Kenneth Boudreau, both who worked for Commander Jon Burge, to confess to the 1991 murder of Rafael Garcia outside a sandwich shop on Chicago's southwest side.
Chicago has already spent about $100 million in paying out settlements to victims of Burge or Chicago cops connected to him. Burge and cops under his command have faced dozens of allegations of torturing and beating mostly African-American suspects.
The statute of limitations ran out on his alleged crimes, but Burge was convicted in 2010 of perjury in civil proceedings for lying about mistreatment of suspects he oversaw. The ex-cop spent less than four years in prison.
In 2015, Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced a $5.5 million reparations package to alleged victims of Burge.
In a brief hearing Monday, special prosecutor Robert Milan said that after conducting a three-month review of the Jakes' prosecution, he came to the conclusion that the evidence that was used to convict the teen at a trial in 1993 fell short of meeting the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt and asked the case to be dismissed.
In the second case, a Cook County judge agreed to vacate the conviction of Robert Bouto, 42, for a 1993 shooting death outside a Chicago high school after prosecutors agreed that Bouto deserved a new trial. Bouto, 42, spent nearly 23 years in prison before he was paroled in 2016. Bouto, 17 when he was arrested, was sentenced to 45 years in prison.