This is not the first time an inmate set for execution has been found to be wrongfully convicted. With the advent of DNA technology, among other things, it seems the justice system has been able to correct itself somewhat. Still, the prison industrial complex keeps a disproportionate amount of Black men and women behind bars, unable to contribute to society or build lasting familial structures. To learn more about the prison industry in this country, click here. Find out how you can reach out to a local prison to volunteer time or donations to keep real criminals behind bars and to help win wrongfully convicted citizens freedom. –NewsOne Staff
From ChicagoTribune.com:
The Cook County Board today agreed to pay $525,000 to a former Death Row inmate already given $5.5 million by the city to settle a wrongful conviction lawsuit.
The money due under the settlement approved by the board will be paid to Leroy Orange in five equal installments, the last of which is due in January 2014. He spent 19 years behind bars until former Gov. George Ryan pardoned him in 2003. Like several other former murder defendants, Orange alleged that former Chicago Police Cmdr. Jon Burge used torture to force his murder confession. Neither the city nor the county admitted wrongdoing in settling the cases.
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