A show about the Cook County Sheriff's Criminal Investigation Unit called "The Squeeze" premiers on MSNBC this Friday night at 8:00 p.m. The show follows officers as they try and flip convicted gang members to solve crimes. It has gotten great reviews and should be must-watch TV.
By a 10-0 vote, the Chicago Bar Association's Criminal Law Committee recommended to the State of Illinois to end the use of the death penalty. According to Cook County Judge Shelia Murphy the vote did not surprise her from an economic point of view.
WBBM News in Chicago reports that Judge Murphy told the committee:
That multi-million dollar payouts being made by the city of Chicago and state of Illinois for wrongful death sentences is money that could be spent for far more useful purposes.
"We're in just terrible economic times," Judge Murphy said. "The times are like my parents talked about in the Depression. The state of Illinois is in deep rouble, and we should not be squandering money on the death penalty when there's such great need -- not just with victims but with the elderly, with children, for health care and for education."
Murphy cited studies elsewhere that have shown the cost of sentencing a criminal to natural life without parole is far less expensive than the costs of putting an inmate to death, when the costs of prosecution, appeals and legal defense are added up, not to mention expensive wrongful conviction sentences.
Other groups in Illinois have made similar recommendations in the past, including the Illinois State Bar Association and the Chicago Council of Lawyers.
The vote is of no surprise. There is currently a moratorium in Illinois, set by former Gov. George Ryan before he went to prison. The many cases of individuals exonerated and released from custody on DNA evidence has set this trend into motion. The vote or even the eventual abolishment of the death penalty in Illinois will cause no real practical changes, at least not now. Even current (as of this posting) Gov. Rod Blagojevich has not lifted the moratorium and there is no indication that any future Illinois governor would lift it.
If the CBA is really concerned of the financial impact these case have on the City of Chicago, the CBA should look into recommending caps on recovery in wrongful conviction lawsuits, similar to those imposed on medical malpractice cases in other states. The CBA should also set up a committee to study the Section 1988 fee-shifting statute, which allows plaintiff's attorneys to recover fees, on top of already high jury verdicts. In some cases, attorneys fees vastly exceed the verdict. Caps on both judgments and attorneys fees, as opposed to abolishing the death penalty, will establish the necessary relief to tax payers.
On Thursday, September 4, 2008 a Cook County jury found in favor of Chicago Police Detective Luke Daly and the City of Chicago in a lawsuit stemming from a 2004 police shooting.
On October 27, 2004, plaintiff David Wilson was arrested on the north side of Chicago by the police and was brought to the Area 3 police station pursuant to an arrest warrant for two rapes. Detective Daly was not one of the officers who arrested Wilson, but was the primary detective investigating the rape cases. The arresting officers searched plaintiff upon arrest and placed him in an interview room on a bench handcuffed to a ring on the wall.
The next day, Detective Daly went to Area 3 to receive a Department commendation and to have photographs taken with his family. At this time, he was informed that Wilson was in custody, and he proceed to interview him about the rapes. Wilson initially denied the rapes, but after being presented with evidence to the contrary, including DNA evidence, he requested something to eat and a cigarette. Detective Daly went to the lock up, made Wilson a sandwich, went back to the interview room and gave Wilson the sandwich and a cigarette. Detective Daly uncuffed Wilson from the ring on the wall so he could use his hands to eat and smoke, leaving one handcuff attached to Wilson’s wrist and the other loose.
Detective Daly then left the interview room to get the rape victims and arrange for a lineup. A short time later, Detective Daly heard Wilson yell out from the interview room requesting another cigarette. When Detective Daly opened the door to the interview room to give him a cigarette, Wilson attacked him with the dangling handcuff and a screwdriver. Wilson apparently found the screwdriver after moving one of the tiles in the false ceiling in the interview room. There was evidence presented at the trial that maintenance and installation work had recently been done in the interview room. After being attacked, Detective Daly then shot Wilson three times, paralyzing him from the waist down.
Wilson subsequently sued Detective Daly and the City of Chicago on the basis that the shooting was wilful and wanton. He alleged that he never threatened Detective Daly and that Daly performed street justice and attempted to execute him; or alternatively, he alleged that, even if he had attacked Detective Daly, it was because Daly failed to follow proper procedures, putting Wilson in a position where he was able to attack Daly. The City argued that Daly was justified in shooting since Wilson was trying to kill him.
At the close of the eighty-day trial, Wilson asked the jury to award $28.5 million in damages. Jurors deliberated for five hours before finding in favor of Detective Daly and the City.
Scott Jebson and David Selmer of the Corporation Counsel's Officer represented the defendant at trial.
Steve Muslin and Craig Sanberg of Muslin & Sanberg represented the Plaintiff
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