Vol. 2, Issue 41: Chicago's Criminal Justice Playbook
At Issue: Juvenile Sentencing and Forensic Science
Adam Gray was released from prison on May 3, more than two decades after receiving a mandatory life sentence without parole for arson and murder.
Gray, now 38, was 14 when he was arrested and charged. He quickly recanted a confession he gave after seven hours of high-pressure questioning. Police “were not receptive to anything I had to say until I said what they wanted me to say,” he recalled at a press conference last week.
Advances in fire science discredited investigators’ conclusion that an accelerant was used to set the fire. Based on this evidence, then-State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez moved for a new trial for Gray last year. However, in an apparently unprecedented decision, Judge Angela Petrone rejected testimony by fire experts and denied the motion. This year, newly elected State’s Attorney Kim Foxx filed a joint Appellate Court motion with defense attorneys to dismiss the charges and release Gray.
Gray is the third Illinois prisoner who received a mandatory life-without-parole sentence as a juvenile to be released based on innocence claims in recent years, according to Shobha Mahadev of the Children and Family Justice Center at Northwestern University’s law school. Mahadev, who serves as the project director of the Illinois Coalition for Fair Sentencing of Children, noted that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled mandatory life-without-parole sentences for juveniles unconstitutional in 2012. Subsequent court decisions granted individuals serving such sentences the right to resentencing hearings.
Mahadev estimated that Illinois courts have resentenced nearly 20 of approximately 80 prisoners in this category. In two cases, life sentences were upheld—one by Judge Petrone, who issued an unusual ruling characterizing scientific findings on adolescent development as “speculative.”
The Supreme Court has not ruled on non-mandatory life sentences for juveniles, which are imposed at a judge’s discretion. However, 19 states have banned all forms of life sentences for juveniles. Illinois is not among them.
“The United States stands alone as the only nation that sentences people to life without parole for crimes committed before turning 18,” according to the Sentencing Project. In Illinois, children as young as 13 can be sentenced to life without parole.
Meanwhile, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that he is ending the Justice Department’s partnership with the National Commission on Forensic Science. The commission has recommended that courts question the admissibility of a variety of forensic techniques commonly used to secure convictions.
In recent years, hundreds of convictions have been overturned as research scientists have exposed faulty forensic methods. Additionally, tens of thousands of convictions have been called into question due to crime lab abuses.
As a senator, Sessions defended longstanding forensic techniques and warned the Justice Department against “micromanaging” forensic practices.
VIDEO POLICY COMPROMISED
The city’s new transparency policy mandates the release of police shooting videos within 60 days, with the possibility of one 30-day delay. The policy explicitly states that the city “will not honor any further requests to delay release beyond the initial request.” However, The Chicago Tribune reports that this timeline has been followed in only two of five such incidents so far this year.
In two cases, judges blocked the release of video in response to motions filed by defense attorneys. In the third case, city lawyers agreed to an additional delay requested by prosecutors. When that video was eventually posted, The Tribune noted that “the footage largely shows the aftermath of the shooting from a distance, raising questions as to why prosecutors contended the video needed to be withheld.”
TRAFFIC STOP QUOTA CHALLENGED
A district commander’s memo that appeared to set quotas for traffic stops may have violated a state law prohibiting municipalities from requiring officers “to issue a specific number of citations within a designated time,” according to Karen Sheley of the ACLU.
The Chicago Police Department (CPD) defended Commander Anthony Escamilla of the Grand Crossing District, stating that he “outlined parameters of the District’s traffic missions, designed to combat a rise in vehicle-related shootings.”
The directive “raises concerns that officers may engage in stops that may not be justified,” with potential negative repercussions for community relations, Sheley said.
POLICE BOARD GETS TOUGH
No officers were cleared of misconduct by the Police Board last year, marking a sharp reversal from the board’s past record, when it frequently overturned disciplinary recommendations by the police superintendent. Of the 15 officers who appeared before the board last year, seven were discharged, one was suspended, and seven resigned.
The shift reflects a tougher stance by the Police Board under President Lori Lightfoot, who was appointed in 2015.
NO OVERSIGHT FOR MOONLIGHTING COPS
Chicago has the weakest oversight of secondary employment among the nation’s 50 largest local law enforcement agencies, according to The Chicago Reporter. The Chicago Police Department (CPD) is the only department that does not require officers to obtain permission before taking second jobs, in apparent violation of mandates set by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies.
City lawyers have defended at least four lawsuits alleging misconduct by officers working secondary jobs. The city has paid out more than $100,000 in settlements and could be liable for over $300,000 in another lawsuit.
The Reporter cites the U.S. Department of Justice’s investigation of CPD, which found that “a significant amount of alleged misconduct” occurs during secondary employment. The department has cited provisions in police union contracts as a limitation on oversight.