Though Your Brother's Bound And Gagged, Take 2: Illinois Decides Not To Re-Prosecute James Andrews

Earlier, I reported that a Cook County judge ordered a new trial for James Andrews, who claimed that his confession was the result of torture at the hands of detectives working under former Chicago Police Commander John Burge.  That new trial was supposed to have started in March, but the Illinois attorney general's office decided yesterday that the trial would not go forward and it would not prosecute Andrews.  Cara Smith, a spokesperson for attorney general Lisa Madigan stated,  "Based on the judge's ruling that suppressed the statements and the evidence that remained for crimes that occurred over 25 years ago, we decided this was the most appropriate course to take."

As I noted in my earlier post, it will be interesting to see how many more appeals will follow by people who gave confessions with Burge was Police Commander.

-CM