Wrongly Convicted Database Record

 

Go to Database Search Page

Go to  Database Index Page

Gregory Banks

 

Charge:

Murder and Robbery

Sentence:

50 years

Years Imprisoned:

7

Year Crime:

1983

Year Convicted:

1985

Year Cleared:

1990

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Illinois

County or Region of Crime:

Cook

City of Crime:

Chicago

Result:

Judicially Exonerated and Later Pardoned

Summary of Case:

"Gregory Banks and David Bates were codefendants wrongly convicted in 1985 of a murder committed in Chicago in 1983. Banks' conviction was overturned by the Illinois Court of Appeals on December 28, 1989 based on his confession was involuntary because it was extracted by physical coercion by Chicago PD officers, and the Cook County State's Attorney elected not to retry him, and his charges were dismissed and he was released from prison. In 1994 Bates' conviction was overturned by the Ilinois Court of Appeals based on his confession was involuntary because it was extracted by physical coercion by Chicago PD officers. Bates was acquitted after a bench (judge only) retrial on December 21, 1995. David Bates filed a a federal civil rights lawsuit against the City of Chicago and the Chicago Police Department, which was settled in 1996 for $66,000. Bates was pardoned in January 2015 by Illinois Governor Pat Quinn on the basis of actual innocence. The pardon was a legal formality necessary for Bates to file a claim for compensation from the State of Illinois."

Conviction Caused By:

False confession by him and his co-defendant who were physically tortured by Chicago PD officers.

Innocence Proved By:

"Banks' conviction was overturned by the Illinois Court of Appeals on December 28, 1989 based on his confession was involuntary because it was extracted by physical coercion by Chicago PD officers, and the Cook County State's Attorney elected not to retry him, and his charges were dismissed and he was released from prison."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

"Yes (City of Chicago, 2015)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

19

Age When Released:

26

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"People v. Banks, 192 Ill. App.3d 986, 549 N.E.2d 766 (Ill. Ct. of Appeals 1989) (Reversing conviction and ordering retrial.)"

Information Location 1:

http://www.leagle.com/decision/19891178192IllApp3d986_11069/PEOPLE%20v.%20BANKS

Information Source 2:

"Ex-gang member: 'I'll never forget' detective who suffocated him into false confession: Gregory Banks testifies in Jon Burge trial, By Matthew Walberg (Tribune reporter), Chicago Tribune, June 10, 2010"

Information Location 2:

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-06-10/news/ct-met-burge-trial-0611-20100610_1_gregory-banks-detectives-confession

Information Source 3:

"Chicago to Pay $5 Million to Victims of Police Abuse, By Mitch Smith and Monica Davey, New York Times, May 6, 2015"

Information Location 3:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/07/us/chicago-to-pay-5-million-to-victims-of-police-abuse.html?_r=0

Information Source 4:

Information Location 4:

Information Source 5:

Information Location 5:

Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

Comments About Case:

Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org

Hosted on forejustice.org and mirrored on justicedenied.org .