Jury deciding on $31M in damages for alleged Burge victim
CHICAGO - The price tag of $31 million for 31 years behind bars was pitched to a federal jury Monday, which is deciding on the damage award for a 65-year-old Chicago man who says detectives working for the late commander Jon Burge framed him.
Stanley Wrice walked out of a federal courtroom Monday after closing arguments in his civil suit against the city of Chicago and two former cops.
Seven years ago, Wrice walked out of prison after a Cook County judge dropped his 1982 conviction for the brutal rape and torture of a woman at his Southside home.
Wrice says his confession was beaten out of him by former detectives John Byrne and Peter Dignan, who were part of the so-called "midnight crew" run by disgraced former commander Burge.
Wrice's attorney, Jennifer Bonjean told jurors that $31 million in damages sounds like a good number for 31 years in prison.
"They lied, put him in prison and ruined his life,” said Bonjean.
She said the fact the two detectives took the fifth and refused to testify on the stand last week proves their guilt.
“They probably went out afterward and had a beer and talked about the good old days when you could flatten a suspect and use the n-word,” said Bonjean.
While the city has settled scores of Burge-related cases for millions of dollars, this time they're fighting the lawsuit.
After nearly five hours of closing arguments, the jurors will return at 10 a.m. Tuesday morning to begin deliberations.