Conviction Tossed in Another Chicago False Confession Case

I’m a little late in reporting, but last Thursday, in an exceptionally courageous decision, a Cook County judge granted post-conviction relief to Exoneration Project client, Patrick Prince. After a evidentiary hearing, Judge Wilson found that we’d met the actual innocence standard and vacated Prince’s conviction. The opinion can be found here, and is attached. Still unsure whether the state will seek a retrial or dismiss the charges.

Mr. Prince has been imprisoned since 1991, when he was just 19. There was one—and only one–piece of evidence that tied him to the crime: a confession notorious Chicago Detective Kriston Kato coerced out of him after an evening of interrogation and abuse. Detective Kato has been accused of abusing more than 30 people (indeed, witnesses and not just defendants), nearly 1/3 of whom were never charged, acquitted, or had their convictions overturned.

An additional “Chicago style” wrinkle:  In Chicago, after a suspect agrees to give a statement, a “Felony Review” Assistant State’s Attorney comes to the police station to memorialize the confession, even if it’s 5 in the morning as it was in this case. Then, the felony review ASAs testify—almost identically from case to case—at suppression hearings that the defendant seemed fine, not abused, was treated well by the police, etc. It is completely bogus, and a part of the deep corruption here. These felony review ASAs must play ball with the detectives, or they don’t move on to the trial division, which is what leads to the homicide division and, of course, later being elected as a Cook County judge….

This is why I described the opinion as courageous.  In this case, the felony review ASA was a women named Dominica Stephenson.  Ms. Stephenson is a sitting judge in the same building as our judge. She was represented in the hearing by “Special State’s Attorneys” from Skadden. Truly remarkable. If that weren’t enough, Detective Kato is married to a different sitting judge in the building who parks next to Judge Wilson. So, in addition to the legal hurdles we had to overcome, we had to persuade our judge to ignore the political pressure of  26th and Cal. It is not lost on me that this opinion would have been impossible had he been a former ASA in Cook County.

A final note that makes this case pretty great: University of Chicago law students were involved at every step—from intake, to pleadings, and to putting on witnesses in our evidentiary hearing. In addition to the great news for our client, it was truly rewarding to see the students learn so much, and gain an appreciation for the importance of this work hands on.

Cheers,