Michael Tillman

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Charge:	"Murder, Rape and Kidnapping"
Sentence:	Life Imprisonment
Years Imprisoned:	23.5
Year Crime:	1986
Year Convicted:	1986
Year Cleared:	2010
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Illinois
County or Region of Crime:	Cook
City of Crime:	Chicago
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Michael Tillman was wrongly convicted in December 1986 of a murder, rape, and kidnapping committed in 1986 in Chicago, Illinois. Tillman's prosecution was based on his confession, that he recanted as coerced by him being tortured by his Chicago Police Department interrogators. Tillman claimed that during his four day interrogation he was repeatedly suffocated with a typewriter cover, beaten bloody with a telephone book, water boarded with 7-Up poured up his nose, threatened with a gun, and burned with a cigarette lighter by police detectives. Tillman waived his right to a jury trial, and during his bench (judge only) trial his lawyer didn't object to the prosecution's introduction of blood and semen evidence that had no probative value to determine Tillman's guilt, but which could be misleading. The judge denied Tillman's motion to exclude his confession. After Tillman was convicted, he was sentenced to life in prison. In 1991 the Illinois Appellate Court reversed Tillman's conviction on the basis his lawyer failed to object to the irrelevant blood and semen evidence. Tillman was retried in 1996, and his confession was again admitted as evidence. After his conviction by a jury Tillman was sentenced to life in prison plus 25 years. His conviction was affirmed by the appeals court in June 1999. In 2009 evidence had become public that the Chicago PD had systematically tortured suspects to extract an involuntary confession. In 2009 Tillman filed a habeas corpus petition for a new trial based on the new evidence corroborating his assertion at trial that his confession was coerced by torture. The special prosecutor appointed to handle the torture scandal decided not to oppose Tillman's petition. A Cook County judge granted Tillman's petition and he was released on January 14, 2010. On February 19, 2011 Tillman was granted a certificate of innocence that enabled him to file a claim for compensation with the Illinois Court of Claims. In July 2012 Michael Tillman was awarded compensation of $199,150 by the State of Illinois. Tillman filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the City of Chicago, the Chicago PD, and officers involved in is prosecution. On July 23, 2012 the City of Chicago agreed to settle Tillman's lawsuit for $5,375,000."
Conviction Caused By:	False confession extracted by police torture.
Innocence Proved By:	"In 2009 Tillman filed a habeas corpus petition for a new trial based on the new evidence supporting his assertion at trial that his confession was coerced by torture. The special prosecutor appointed to handle the torture scandal decided not to oppose Tillman's petition. A Cook County judge granted Tillman's petition and he was released on January 14, 2010."
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:	"$5,574,150 total. $199,150 (State of Illinois, July 2012) and $5,375,000 (City of Chicago, July 23, 2012)"
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	20
Age When Released:	44
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"City to Settle Lawsuit of Torture Survivor Michael Tillman for $5.375 Million, PeoplesLawOffice.com, July 23, 2012"
Information Location 1:	http://peopleslawoffice.com/settlement-for-civil-rights-lawsuit-for-police-brutality-torture/
Information Source 2:	"Michael Tillman, Northwestern Law School, Center on Wrongful Convictions"
Information Location 2:	http://www.law.northwestern.edu/legalclinic/wrongfulconvictions/exonerations/il/michael-tillman.html
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Michael Tillman

Charge:

"Murder, Rape and Kidnapping"

Sentence:

Life Imprisonment

Years Imprisoned:

23.5

Year Crime:

1986

Year Convicted:

1986

Year Cleared:

2010

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Illinois

County or Region of Crime:

Cook

City of Crime:

Chicago

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

False confession extracted by police torture.

Innocence Proved By:

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

"$5,574,150 total. $199,150 (State of Illinois, July 2012) and $5,375,000 (City of Chicago, July 23, 2012)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

20

Age When Released:

44

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"City to Settle Lawsuit of Torture Survivor Michael Tillman for $5.375 Million, PeoplesLawOffice.com, July 23, 2012"

Information Location 1:

http://peopleslawoffice.com/settlement-for-civil-rights-lawsuit-for-police-brutality-torture/

Information Source 2:

"Michael Tillman, Northwestern Law School, Center on Wrongful Convictions"

Information Location 2:

http://www.law.northwestern.edu/legalclinic/wrongfulconvictions/exonerations/il/michael-tillman.html

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