Alonzo Smith

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Charge:	First Degree Murder and Robbery
Sentence:	40 years
Years Imprisoned:	19
Year Crime:	1983
Year Convicted:	1984
Year Cleared:	2015
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Illinois
County or Region of Crime:	Cook
City of Crime:	Chicago
Result:	Judicially Exonerated
Summary of Case:	"Alonzo Smith was wrongly convicted on July 2, 1984 of first-degree murder, robbery and home invasion in Chicago, Illinois. Smith's prosecution was based on his confession that he recanted as extracted under torture by two Chicago PD officers. After his conviction by a jury, Smith was sentenced to 40 years in prison. Smith was released on parole in 2002, after more than 19 years in prison. Smith filed a post-conviction petition for a new trial based on evidence that Lt. Burge and his fellow officers tortured suspects into making false confessions. Smith's petition for a new trial was granted, and the Cook County State's Attorney's motion to dismiss the charges was granted on October 19, 2015. On March 17, 2016 Smith filed a federal civil rights lawsuit that named as defendants: Former Chicago Police Officers, former Cook County State's Attorneys, former City of Chicago officials, the City of Chicago, and the County of Cook alleging violations of his constitutional rights, along with supplemental state law claims. In March 2019 Smith agreed to settle his lawsuit for $5,500,000."
Conviction Caused By:	"False confession extracted by police coercion. After Smith's conviction, evidence came to light that Chicago PD Lt. Jon Burge and his subordinate Chicago PD officers had tortured more than 100 defendants over a period of years."
Innocence Proved By:	"Smith's petition for a new trial was granted, and the Cook County State's Attorney's motion to dismiss the charges was granted on October 19, 2015."
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:	"$5,500,000 (City o Chicago, 3-5-2019)"
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	35
Age When Released:	54
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"Smith v. Burge, et al., Case No. 16 C 3404 (N.D. Ill.) (Complaint filed March 17, 2016.)"
Information Location 1:	https://casetext.com/case/smith-v-burge-7
Information Source 2:	"Chicago Police torture settlement, By Associated Press, kwqc.com, March 5, 2019 "
Information Location 2:	https://www.kwqc.com/content/news/Chicago-Police-torture-settlement-506722501.html
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Alonzo Smith

Charge:

First Degree Murder and Robbery

Sentence:

40 years

Years Imprisoned:

19

Year Crime:

1983

Year Convicted:

1984

Year Cleared:

2015

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Illinois

County or Region of Crime:

Cook

City of Crime:

Chicago

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

"False confession extracted by police coercion. After Smith's conviction, evidence came to light that Chicago PD Lt. Jon Burge and his subordinate Chicago PD officers had tortured more than 100 defendants over a period of years."

Innocence Proved By:

"Smith's petition for a new trial was granted, and the Cook County State's Attorney's motion to dismiss the charges was granted on October 19, 2015."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

"$5,500,000 (City o Chicago, 3-5-2019)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

35

Age When Released:

54

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"Smith v. Burge, et al., Case No. 16 C 3404 (N.D. Ill.) (Complaint filed March 17, 2016.)"

Information Location 1:

https://casetext.com/case/smith-v-burge-7

Information Source 2:

"Chicago Police torture settlement, By Associated Press, kwqc.com, March 5, 2019 "

Information Location 2:

https://www.kwqc.com/content/news/Chicago-Police-torture-settlement-506722501.html

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