Man convicted in slayings of 2 officers released on bond

CHICAGO (AP) - A man serving life in prison for the 1982 deaths of two Chicago police officers has been ordered released from jail while awaiting his third trial.

Cook County Judge William Hooks granted Jackie Wilson, 57, his release Friday without Wilson having to post a cash bond. Hooks on Thursday tossed out Wilson's confession that he fatally shot Officers Richard O'Brien and William Fahey and ordered a new trial.

Wilson has alleged former police Cmdr. Jon Burge and his subordinates tortured him into confessing to the shootings.

During Thursday's hearing, prosecutors argued Wilson should be kept in jail, saying he teamed up with his now-deceased brother, Andrew, to shoot the officers during a traffic stop. Defense attorneys argued Wilson was innocent and posed no danger to the community.

Arrangements have been made for Wilson to live at a halfway house and get counseling, defense attorney Elliot Slossar said Thursday.

Burge has never faced criminal charges for abuse. He was fired from the police department in 1993 over the 1982 beating and burning of Andrew Wilson. He died in prison in 2007, having been tried and convicted twice in the deaths of O'Brien and Fahey.

Burge was convicted in 2010 of lying about whether he ever witnessed or participated in the torture of suspects and served a term in federal prison.