Released January 10, 2003 !| Latest News - Aaron
Patterson Released ! |
Thank you for upholding the principles of justice
| News About Aaron Patterson's Case (2002) |
| SIGN PETITION FOR AARON PATTERSON |
| Death Row deal rejected-Inmate says no to Devine's offer |
| State Representative Letter of Appeal to Janet Reno |
| Statement from Dr. Morris about IL Police Abuse |
| Amnesty International about IL Police Abuse |
| Read About the Abuses at Illinois Menard Correctional Facility |
| Read recent articles:
Aaron Patterson In The News
Newsweek.com - May 31, 1999: http://www.truthinjustice.org/patterson.htm A tortured path to Death Row - Chicgo Tribune November 17, 1999: http://chicagotribune.com/news/metro/chicago/ws/item/0,1308,49183-0-38041,00.html INDY MEDIA CENTER NEWS: http://chicago.indymedia.org/display.php3?article_id=862 Article from New Abolitionist: http://www.nodeathpenalty.org/may1998/aaronPatterson.html |
| Read Pure Torture An article From The Chicago Reader |
| Read some Notes On Aaron's Case from his Defense Committee |
| Free Aaron Patterson Another webpage with info from his supporters |
| On and Off Death Row A panel discussion of the death penalty in Illinois |
| The Aaron Patterson case From: The Patrick Crusade |
| Patterson On Death Row From: The Patterson Genealogy page |
| Aaron Patterson Case,
amicus brief written by MacArthur Justice
Center attorneys and filed with Illinois Supreme Court on December 11,
1998, seeks a full hearing for Patterson and others under death sentence
in Illinois who credibly claim that their convictions were the result in
part of confessions that were extracted by torture.
Click here for copy of the amicus brief * in MS Word (.doc) format |
| ICADP Aaron's mother Jo Ann Patterson is currently a member of
the ICADP Board. (Illinois Coalition Against the Death Penalty) she is active in the committee for the defense of Aaron Patterson. |
| Article on "The Death Row 10" |
|
Stanley Howard's article on "The Death Row 10"
( Stanley Howard - is one of the death row 10 ) |
| DERZEIT UNSCHULDIG IN DER TODESZELLE - (German) |
| Die Aaron Patterson Story - (German) |
| Stimmen von Drinnen-Todestraktinsassen suchen Kontakt- (German) |
| Aaron Patterson
is an African-American facing execution for the 1986 homicide of a Chicago
couple. His conviction was based on an unsigned 'confession'
obtained through torture. Police in Chicago's Area 2 Violent Crimes Unit kicked and struck Patterson, suffocated him, and interrogated him for 25 hours with no attorney present. The 'confession', written by police was not signed by Patterson. There is no physical or circumstantial evidence against him. More than 40 black men were tortured with electric shocks, suffocation hoods, Russian roulette, burns, severe beatings, and threats of death during a 12 year period, resulting in the dismissal of a lieutenant in 1993. Several prisoners on Illinois death row are Area 2 torture victims. |
Aaron Patterson
made this etching while in custody Aaron Patterson was sentenced to death in 1989 for the double-homicide of Rafaela and Vincente Sanchez. The Sanchezes were an elderly couple on the south side of Chicago who were "fences," i.e. they sold stolen good from their house. They were found brutally stabbed to death with property taken from their home; there was no evidence of a break-in to the house.
The "evidence" used to convict Aaron consisted of
1) an unsigned "confession" written by then Assistant State Attorney Peter Troy, along with the "confession" of Aaron's co-defendant Eric Caine; and
2)
the testimony of Marva Hall-- the only "civilian witness" in the case.
No
physical, circumstantial, nor eyewitness evidence connected Aaron to this
crime. Fingerprints and 3 different sets of bloody shoe prints uncovered
at the crime scene were tested by the police lab technician and did not match
Aaron's. Multiple investigations into Aaron's case-- conducted
within the last several years by investigators and attorneys at the Peoples
Law Office, as well as by concerned citizens such as Professor David Protess
of the Medill School of Journalism--unequivocally demonstrate that Aaron
is innocent of the Sanchez murders. There are four key reasons that explain
how Aaron was wrongfully convicted and why he remains on death row despite
the evidence of his innocence.; These are:
1) police corruption;
2) prosecutorial misconduct (for more background information on prosecutorial misconduct in general refer to the series the Chicago Tribune newspaper ran starting 9 January 1999, at www.chicagotribune.com)
3) ineffective assistance of counsel; and
4)
judicial prejudice.
1)
Police Corruption (Torture and Manufacture of False confession):
Aaron
was arrested as a suspect in the Sanchez murders during the afternoon of
April 30, 1986, and taken to the Area 2 police station by Detective James
Pienta, William Marley and William Pederson. Police arrested Aaron
after Marva Hall allegedly told Detective Danzl on April 21, 1986, that Aaron
told her he killed the Sanchezes.; At that time, Hall was a teen-ager
and her cousin, DeEdward White, was in jail as a suspect in the Sanchez murders.
According
to Aaron, at Area 2 he was handcuffed behind his back in an interrogation
room and tortured later that night by Detectives Pienta, Marley and Pederson,
among others.; These officers beat Aaron and repeatedly suffocated him by
pulling a typewriter cover over his head. Under this duress, Aaron eventually
succumbed to the torture and kept saying "anything you say." The officers
left the room to get a Felony Review State's Attorney. They were gone
for an hour. During this time, Aaron scratched into a bench in the room that
he was being tortured. Lt. Jon Burge then entered the room with Assistant
State Attorney Kip Owen who was ready to take Aaron's "confession."
Aaron
asked Owen to talk to him alone, without Burge present; Burge left the room.
Aaron then told Owen that he had nothing to say to him and that he wanted
a lawyer. Owen left the room and Burge then re-entered, Burge pulled
out his gun and placed it on the table, telling Aaron that he was making a
mistake and matters could get much worse for him. Burge left and Aaron
remained in the interrogation room. The next day, Assistant State Attorney
Peter Troy entered the room with a statement he had written regarding the
Sanchez murders, but Aaron refused to sign it.; Consequently, Detective Madigan
beat him. However, the police soon stopped the interrogation and Troy's
written statement--unsigned by Aaron-- became the "confession" entered in
Assistant State Attorney Owen stated at one point during the interrogation
that he needed further corroboration before Aaron could be charged. This
concern was disregarded by the State Attorney's office which proceeded to
prosecute Aaron.
a)
Former police commander Jon Burge was in charge of the Sanchez investigation
which was conducted at a time when his torture ring at Area 2 was in full
operation. In 1986, Burge had not yet been publicly exposed nor fired for
torture. Aaron did not know who Burge was at the time, but merely described
him as the "red haired officer." The officers who beat and suffocated
Aaron-- particularly James Pienta--were subsequently exposed as being participants
in Burge's torture ring; these officers were involved in other incidents
of Area 2 torture. Additionally, the torture techniques applied against
Aaron-- the
suffocation
bagging and the gun threat-- were the same techniques utilized by Burge,
Pienta and the officers involved in other torture cases.
b)
Aaron's etchings-- in the bench of the interrogation room-- were photographed,
verifying their existence. On May 7, 1986, Detectives Pienta and Marley
wrote a memo to Burge, warning him of the existence of the etchings.
Aaron's current defense team at the Peoples Law Office has obtained this
memo. On May 27, 1986, one of Aaron's then defense team; members, Ike
Carrothers, came to Area 2 in an attempt to photograph the etchings; he was
blocked by Burge who required Carrothers to obtain authorization from the
State Attorney's office. On May 29, 1986, Arnold Ross Victor went to
Area 2 with a court order on behalf of the defense team and photographed
the etchings.
c)
The same officers involved in Aaron's interrogation tortured co-defendant,
Eric Caine. Like Aaron, Caine was taken to Area 2 as a suspect in the Sanchez
murders. Detectives Pienta and Marley beat him and Detective Madigan shattered
his eardrum; emergency room staff verified the evidence of his torture.
These officers attempted to force Caine to implicate Aaron in the crime
in addition to "confessing" his own alleged involvement. Caine stated that,
at one point while he was at Area 2, police took him by Aaron who looked
like he had been brutalized. Additionally, Michael Arbuckle, another suspect
in the Sanchez murder, was threatened with electrocution by police and pressured
to implicate Aaron.
d)
On August 12 and 23, September 1 and 7, 1994, Aaron was personally evaluated
by Dr. Antonio Martinez, an expert in treating torture victims, to determine
if he had been tortured. Dr. Martinez determined Aaron had been tortured
during his interrogation at Area 2.
He
also determined Aaron exhibited "six categories of psychological
markers
which qualify under Post Traumatic Stress Disorder..."
e)
The content of the; "confession"-- aside from; how it was produced-- is not
credible. According to the "confession," the Sanchezes were killed in the
early morning hours of April 18, 1986. In contrast, one of the Sanchezes
neighbors, Ophelia Loy, stated that she saw Vincente Sanchez raking the lawn
at 3:00 PM on April 18, 1986. Ms. Loy reported this finding in a Medical
Examiner's Report dated April 19, 1986, but she was never summoned to testify
in court at the trial.
Prosecutorial
Misconduct (Collaboration with Police Torture, Witness Intimidation, Use
of Perjured Testimony, and Possible Destruction of Evidence):
Assistant
State Attorney Peter Troy wrote Aaron's alleged "confession" and attempted
to have him sign it; Aaron refused. Troy knew Aaron had been tortured and
this "confession" was not legitimate. Nonetheless, Troy stood by the
"confession" when Aaron went to trial. According to a 1998
affidavit by Marva Hall, Aaron's trial prosecutor, Jack Hynes, threatened
to have her locked up if she did not testify against Aaron. Though she explained
to Hynes that her alleged statement to the police on April 21, 1986, implicating
Aaron was false, Hynes nonetheless pressured her to testify against him. Hall
has since recanted this testimony on three separate occasions, most recently
in her 1998 affidavit. Hall was the state's star witness-- the only "civilian"
witness-- against Aaron. This fact is underscored again in an October 4,
1998, article by Steve Mills in the Chicago Tribune.
Fingerprint
evidence was uncovered from a cassette recorder on the victim's back porch
by two CPD evidence technicians on April 19, 1986. Chicago police
officer Herman Kluth testified as an expert on fingerprint comparisons at
Aaron's trial, noting that the impressions did not match Aaron or Caine.
; Kluth further testified that the prints were compared with other possible
suspects and that these results were in an "evidence envelope." Aaron's
current defense team recently subpoenaed the CPD to release this evidence;
the team planned to have its own expert run a print comparison in order to
determine who the prints may match, thereby pointing to the real killer.
However, this evidence was now 'missing' from the CPD's files.; The defense
team also sought to obtain this evidence from the State Attorney's file,
the evidence was again "missing." This evidence envelope also contained six
photos of three different bloody shoe prints found on the kitchen floor of
the victims house.
3)
Ineffective Assistance of Counsel (Failure to Introduce Evidence of Torture,
Failure to Impeach Unreliable Witnesses, Failure to Investigate Leads and
Summon Witnesses): The issues of ineffective of counsel
in Aaron's case are legion and run throughout the pre-trial, trial and direct
appeal process. Only recently, with the filing of his post conviction petition
for relief by the People's Law Office, has Aaron been effectively represented.
During
the pre-trial phases, Aaron's representation shifted from one public defender
to another, disrupting continuity and focus. These public defenders
failed to thoroughly research and uncover the evidence that substantiated
Aaron's claim of torture. They failed to submit to the court
the growing evidence of torture at Area 2 by Burge and his men that was available
through the Andrew Wilson case research; to have Aaron evaluated for signs
of
torture; to effectively introduce the etching evidence before the court;
to summon the witnesses, e.g. emergency room staff who could verify the co-defendant,
Eric Caine, had been tortured; and to effectively cross-examine the state's
witness, and summon other witnesses who could have corroborated the credibility
of Aaron's claim. In addition,
Aaron's
trial counsel failed to impeach the credibility of Marva Hall by exposing
inconsistencies in and between her statements and grand jury testimony;
to summon Ophelia Loy to testify about seeing Vincente Sanchez raking his
yard long after the documented time of the murder per the unsigned "confession;"
and to investigate and summon other witnesses who could have pointed to
the real killer. Lastly, trail counsel failed to effectively challenge Aaron's
assignment to Judge Cieslik (see next section--4).
After
the conviction and death sentence, the State Appellate Defender's Office
(due to a backlog of death cases at the time) turned Aaron's case over to
a private Chicago law firm, Ross and Hardies, who were invested with the
responsibility to find Aaron a pro-bono attorney. Ross and Hardies recruited
the law firm of Foley and Lardner to handle
the
appeal; Foley and Lardner, in true, assigned the case to associate Joan
Kubalanza to prepare the appeal. At the time, Ms. Kubalanza had exclusively
handled commercial litigation; Aaron's direct appeal was her first "criminal
case" ever and her first experience litigating a matter before the Illinois
Supreme Court. As the trial counsel, Ms. Kubalanza
failed
to effectively represent Aaron due to her lack of experience and time constraints.
Consequently, the direct appeal was denied. Aaron's case then returned
to trial Judge Morrissey for the post conviction petition appeal. At this
point, Aaron's case was taken over by the People's Law Office which is currently
representing him on his post conviction
appeal
before the Illinois Supreme Court.
Judicial
Prejudice (Improper Selection, Racism, and Unprofessional conduct from the
Bench): From the beginning of the trial process, Aaron has been a victim
of judicial prejudice encompassing his improper transfer to Judge Cieslik
and the subsequent conduct of both Cieslik and Morrissey. After
Aaron was arraigned, his case was initially
assigned
to Judge Bailey. However, his defense attorney at the time moved to substitute
Judge Bailey as a matter of right under the statute. Although
the normal practice then at the Criminal Courts Building for judge substitution
was to sent the case to Chief Judge Richard Fitzgerald's call for reassignment,
Judge Bailey reassigned Aaron's case directly to Judge Cieslik over the
objection of Aaron's attorney. Cieslik had a reputation for racist and sexist
conduct and had been censured for offensive comments to then attorney Mary
Jane Theis who is now herself a judge. Once Aaron's case was improperly reassigned
to Cieslik, his attorney filed a Motion to Vacate Case Assignment, Judge
Cieslik denied this motion. In anger over this Motion Cieslik stated, "I
never walk away from any case..."
Aaron's
attorney changed to Luther Hicks who had represented Derrick Morgan
in
another murder case before Judge Cieslik. During that trial, Cieslik referred
to Hicks, who is African-American, as "Smiley" and to Jim Rhodes, another
AfricanAmerican assistant public defender who represented a co-defendant,
as "Laughing Boy." Both Hicks and Rhodes believed the comments to be derogatory
and racist and these comments became the basis for a Judicial Inquiry Board
hearing. Cieslik denied Aaron's motion to suppress the "confession,"
stating: "...in a murder case of this nature what possible
benefit
could be had by the police officer (by) abusing the defendant as he says
he was abused... ." In other words, how could anyone believe that the police
would torture a suspect?
On
December 22, 1988, Judge John Morrissey succeeded Cieslik in hearing the
case. Morrissey had recently been assigned to the Criminal division and had
no felony experience as a judge. Despite Cieslik's departure, the problem
of judicial prejudice continued. Prior to becoming a judge, Morrissey was
a prosecutor. He prosecuted
Paul
Steven Linscott and during the closing arguments of that trial, misled the
jury. The jury was left to believe that blood and hair samples belonged to
Linscott. The appellate court overturned Linscott's conviction and he was
later released. Morrissey, as a judge, refused to hand over DNA evidence
for Ronald Jones' lawyer to test; the Illinois Supreme
Court
then intervened and forced Morrissey to turn over the evidence which subsequently
exonerated Mr. Jones. More recently, Morrissey attempted to prohibit
Darrell Cannon-- another Area 2 torture victim-- from obtaining a hearing
on the validity of his alleged "confession;" again, the appellate court
overruled Morrissey and has required him to give Cannon an evidentiary hearing
on the alleged "confession."
With
this background, it should come as no surprise that Morrissey sustained
Cieslik's ruling on Aaron's Motion to suppress his "confession" and that
Morrissey unprofessionally commended the jury when they returned with a guilty
verdict for Aaron. Nor should it come as a surprise that Morrissey denied
Aaron's post conviction petition in 1995 despite the preponderance of evidence
that had been uncovered since the original trial substantiating Aaron's claim
of innocence.
Conclusion:
The issues highlighted here represent many of the civil and human rights
violations committed against Aaron Patterson since that afternoon on April
30, 1986, when he was detained by police and taken to Area 2. Aaron's
case is a vivid intersection of the corrupt practices and institutional failures
of the Illinois criminal justice system; police brutality, prosecutorial
misconduct, judicial prejudice, and ineffective defense representation.
It
is up to concerned citizens to intervene and stop what amounts to a legal
lynching. By failing to act, we are all guilty for allowing a terrible
miscarriage of justice to occur.
Write Illinois State Officials to
show your support !
Thank-You
for Writing Illinois State Officials to show your support !
| Letter to Illinois State Attorney General Jim Ryan |
| Letter to Cook County State Attorney Dick Devine |
| Letter to Judge Michael Toomin |
| Letter to Governor George Ryan |
Please Email - Fax - Phone - Write - the Governor and DEMAND that
Aaron Patterson be given a pardon based on ACTUAL INNOCENCE !
GOVERNOR RYAN
319 East Madison, Suite
A
Springfield, Illinois
62701 USA
phone (312) 814-3158
fax (312) 814-5512
Please Email - Fax - Phone - Write -the Attorney General and DEMAND
that he drop the case immediately, quit delaying and covering up the truth
of torture and ACTUAL INNOCENCE !
STATE'S ATTORNEY Richard Devine
309 Daley Center (5th
floor)
Chicago Illinois
60602 USA
phone (312)603-5440
fax (312)603-4708
Aaron feels like a man crying for help, and nobody is listening.
It is not within our
power to go back and change what has already happened in this case.
IT IS within our power to let Aaron know that we are listening, and that
we uphold the rights granted by the US constitution.
Please take a small
moment to send a card, or a "thinking of you" message to Aaron.
Please send a card every 3 or 3 months, this will ensure a constant
high volume of mail going to Aaron, and past the prison personnel and guards.
Write
to Aaron at:
Aaron's NEW Address is :
Aaron Patterson
B00567
PO Box 711
Menard Correctional Center
Menard, IL 62259
For more information contact The Aaron Patterson Defense Committee
BUTTONS ARE NOW AVAILABLE
$2 each or 3 for $5
"Free Aaron Patterson" and "Justice 4 DEATH ROW 10"
CONTACT:
APDC - Aaron Patterson Defense Committee
c/o 8th Day Center Of justice
205 W. Monroe Suite 2W
Chicago, Illinois
60606 USA
Telephone : 773-489-4173 or 773- 671- 8383
OR
African American Committee to Free
Mumia Abu-Jamal and Aaron Patterson
407 South Dearborn Street Suite
1395
Chicago, IL 60605 USA
Phone: 312-554-0005
Email: pumojatutashinda@netscape.net
death_row10@yahoo.com
Aaron's Mysterious Move to Menard C.I.
From J. Patterson (Aaron's Mom) Thursday, June 27, 2002:
I
found about Aaron's move to Menard from an inmate at Pontiac and I am upset
about the move with the isolation, no phone calls to me, racial environment
and the 5-6's hour drive while driving through KKK land to visit him.
We do not understand this relocation at all.
Aaron is in hearings
as to evidence of torture at the Cook County Court in Chicago.
If
there would be a move it seemingly be at the Cook County Jail for a possible
retrial for
him,
thereby cutting cost to Illinois citizens with moving him from a farther
location.
Aaron's
address is now the following:AARON HAS BEEN GRANTED CLEMENCY AND
IS NOW A FREE MAN
Aaron Patterson
B00567
PO Box 711
Menard Correctional Center
Menard, IL 62259
Thank you for upholding the principles of justice
| News About Aaron Patterson's Case (2002) |
| SIGN PETITION FOR AARON PATTERSON |
| Death Row deal rejected-Inmate says no to Devine's offer |
| State Representative Letter of Appeal to Janet Reno |
| Statement from Dr. Morris about IL Police Abuse |
| Amnesty International about IL Police Abuse |
| Read About the Abuses at Illinois Menard Correctional Facility |
| Read recent articles:
Aaron Patterson In The News
Newsweek.com - May 31, 1999: http://www.truthinjustice.org/patterson.htm A tortured path to Death Row - Chicgo Tribune November 17, 1999: http://chicagotribune.com/news/metro/chicago/ws/item/0,1308,49183-0-38041,00.html INDY MEDIA CENTER NEWS: http://chicago.indymedia.org/display.php3?article_id=862 Article from New Abolitionist: http://www.nodeathpenalty.org/may1998/aaronPatterson.html |
| Read Pure Torture An article From The Chicago Reader |
| Read some Notes On Aaron's Case from his Defense Committee |
| Free Aaron Patterson Another webpage with info from his supporters |
| On and Off Death Row A panel discussion of the death penalty in Illinois |
| The Aaron Patterson case From: The Patrick Crusade |
| Patterson On Death Row From: The Patterson Genealogy page |
| Aaron Patterson Case,
amicus brief written by MacArthur Justice
Center attorneys and filed with Illinois Supreme Court on December 11,
1998, seeks a full hearing for Patterson and others under death sentence
in Illinois who credibly claim that their convictions were the result in
part of confessions that were extracted by torture.
Click here for copy of the amicus brief * in MS Word (.doc) format |
| ICADP Aaron's mother Jo Ann Patterson is currently a member of
the ICADP Board. (Illinois Coalition Against the Death Penalty) she is active in the committee for the defense of Aaron Patterson. |
| Article on "The Death Row 10" |
|
Stanley Howard's article on "The Death Row 10"
( Stanley Howard - is one of the death row 10 ) |
| DERZEIT UNSCHULDIG IN DER TODESZELLE - (German) |
| Die Aaron Patterson Story - (German) |
| Stimmen von Drinnen-Todestraktinsassen suchen Kontakt- (German) |
