Police torture survivors now have an easier path to proving their innocence
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Wayne Washington was tortured into a false confession by Chicago police in 1993 for a crime he did not commit. After taking a guilty plea and spending 14 years in prison, his conviction was eventually vacated and the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office dismissed the charges against him.
A Certificate of Innocence is critical to folks obtaining employment and housing when they get out of prison, and also serves as a recognition by the state that a prior conviction was fundamentally wrong. Yet, based on the reasoning of the lower courts, a torture survivor making the rational choice to accept a plea deal when faced with a stacked deck and life in prison was somehow responsible for their own incarceration.
But when Mr. Washington petitioned for a Certificate of Innocence, the circuit court–and an appellate court–claimed he could not receive one because he pled guilty to the crime, ignoring the fact that Mr. Washington’s plea was the result of torture and coercion.
Mr. Washington appealed the denial of his petition all the way to the Illinois Supreme Court in the case People v. Washington.
This week, the Illinois Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of Mr. Washington, finding that people who plead guilty cannot be categorically barred from obtaining certificates of innocence and that Mr. Washington “did not cause or bring about his conviction by pleading guilty.”
FDLA Civil Rights Clinic Director Daniel Massoglia co-wrote an amicus brief with attorney Dan Schneider of Legal Action Chicago on behalf of 15 community organizations in support of Mr. Washington’s case. The brief was filed in June 2022, and you can read it here; other briefs included dozens of Certificate of Innocence recipients as well as The Innocence Project and The Innocence Network.
Our brief argued that:
Tortured persons who plead guilty do not “voluntarily cause” their own convictions.
The Certificate of Innocence statute was designed to benefit individuals like Mr. Washington.
A Certificate of Innocence provides myriad social benefits that would help Mr. Washington regain his health and dignity.
The lower courts’ denial of a Certificate of Innocence to Mr. Washington constructs barriers to housing and employment resources.
We are so happy for Mr. Washington, who suffered for decades from a false confession and wrongful conviction caused by police torture, and then again from the denial of his certificate of innocence. We hope this legal victory for Mr. Washington provides a pathway for other survivors of police torture to indicate their innocence to the world.
If you or someone you know has experienced abuse by the police, is currently under arrest, or if you are unsure of your rights when interacting with law enforcement, call 1-800-LAW-REP4 now for our 24/7/365 hotline connecting you with free attorneys, know your rights workshops, and community resources.