Cop accused of torture wants Ryan to testify

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-burge11.html

When former Gov. George Ryan appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show in 2003 to discuss his pardons of four Death Row inmates, he said three were "exonerated by the courts to some degree."

The four have sued former Chicago Police Cmdr. Jon Burge and other former officers, claiming they were tortured into giving false confessions. The men plan to use Ryan's pardons as evidence of their innocence.

Now defense attorneys for Burge are arguing Ryan should be forced to testify about his decision to pardon the men because he already has discussed his reasoning on national TV and in other public arenas such as DePaul University.

In court papers filed last week, Terrence J. Sheahan, an attorney for Burge, called Ryan's statements on the Oprah Winfrey Show "astounding given that no court has ever exonerated {Aaron} Patterson, {Stanley} Howard, {Leroy} Orange and {Madison} Hobley in any 'degree.' "



http://www.nbc5.com/news/3512713/detail.html?subid=10101401

Burge Takes The Fifth

Former Area 2 Commander Declines Response To Torture Allegations

CHICAGO -- If former Chicago police Cmdr. Jon Burge ever tortured suspects in custody, he and other officers aren't saying anything about it.

The former Area 2 commander and eight other defendants have finally answered written interrogatories in a civil lawsuit filed by former death row inmate Aaron Patterson, and it's what they don't say that could be held against them.

After more than a year of legal wrangling, a judge finally forced Burge and other defendants to answer questions about alleged torture, NBC5's Jennifer Mitchell reported. In court records obtained by Unit 5, Burge is asked if he put a gun on the table and said, "If you don't do what we tell you, you will get something worse than before." Then he's asked if he witnessed or participated in placing a bag over Patterson's head. But Burge doesn't reply.

"Reasonable people can draw reasonable inferences from that failure to answer questions about whether they tortured Aaron Patterson," said Patterson's lawyer, Flint Taylor.

[Dhalgren]

1. What's wrong with torturing prisoners? This is America, isn't it?

We torture. The whole world knows it. It has become part of our national character. The US tortures people (and most of the time for no reason). So, why shouldn't cops torture prisoners? I would be surprised if they didn't...