CFIST Press Release for Sean Tyler and Reginald Henderson Certificate of Innocence
MEDIA ALERT - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Kobi Guillory, Chicago Alliance - 773-553-0179 media@caarpr.org
When: Monday, June 12 at 8:30 am
Where: Outside the Leighton Criminal Courthouse (2650 S California Ave, Chicago) and then in Room 101 with Judge Reddick in person or on Zoom
Who: The Campaign to Free Incarcerated Survivors of Police Torture (CFIST), Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR), Chicago Torture Justice Center (CTJC)
What: A conference and rally in support of Sean Tyler and Reginald Henderson, two of over four hundred survivors of torture, frame ups, and wrongful conviction that CFIST has documented.
Why: Sean and Reginald were convicted in their teens without any physical evidence or witness accounts. After serving nearly three decades in prison, they were finally exonerated, but prosecutors are still refusing to clear their names and back a certificate of innocence. They are survivors of torture at the hands of John Burge's Midnight Crew. John Burge’s Midnight Crew are a group of detectives who were found guilty of having directly participated in or implicitly approved the torture of at least 118 innocent, mostly Black men in order to coerce false confessions from the 1970’s well into the 1990’s.
Following the rally, supporters will attend court in person or via zoom in support of Tyler and Henderson.
If logging on to zoom, use the ID: 969 4477 8955 with the password: 030385
We are demanding:
That Sean Tyler and Reginald Henderson receive their rightful certificates of innocence.
CFIST is a campaign of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression. CFIST demands:
That the Office of the State’s Attorney immediately move to vacate convictions for all those framed, tortured and wrongfully convicted, particularly cases involving detectives where an established pattern of torture, forced confession and wrongful convictions holds.
That Governor Pritzker pardon all survivors of police torture and wrongful conviction, beginning with those whose cases have been deemed credible cases of torture by the Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission (TIRC).