Another Victory in the Struggle Against Police Crimes
From: Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression
Patrick Prince was released from prison on Tuesday after State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s office dropped all the charges against him. Prince has been in prison for 26 years, wrongfully charged and convicted based solely on a confession extracted through police torture.
Frank Chapman, hailed the release, noting that “The release of Patrick Prince is another victory in the struggle by tens of thousands of people throughout the Chicago Area against police crimes, especially the torture and wrongful conviction of Black and Latino young men,” Chapman declared. “We call on State’s Attorney Foxx to free all people who have consistently claimed they confessed under torture.”
Chapman is Field Organizer of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR), and Chairperson of the Stop Police Crimes Organizing Committee (SPCOC).
The CAARPR and SPCOC have organized 50,000 people to sign petitions and postcards addressed to their aldermen demanding passage of the ordinance creating an all-elected Civilian Police Accountability Council (CPAC), which would have the power to end and prevent police killings and torture by referring these torture cops for prosecution.
“There are still over a hundred police torture victims in prison,” Chapman noted. He called on Gov. Bruce Rauner to pardon all these torture victims. “It isn’t necessary for the State’s Attorney to have to look individually at each case,” Chapman said. “The Governor has the Constitutional power to pardon all these victims of torture and free them with the stroke of a pen.
“We join with the mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers of these men who have been tirelessly campaigning for justice in the cases of their loved ones who are victims of the police crime of torture. The criterion for pardon should be very simple:
- The victim claimed his innocence from the beginning.
- The victim accused the police of wresting a false confession through torture.
“That’s it. That’s all the Governor needs to free these men through Executive Pardon TODAY!”
