Man convicted of murder wants new trial, says police beat confession out of him

It was one of the most infamous police murders in Chicago history. Two officers were gunned down in 1982 during a traffic stop. 

Now, one of two brothers convicted of those murders wants a new trial. He claims his confession was beaten out of him by officers led by the infamous lieutenant Jon Burge.

Jackie Wilson, 57, has been behind bars since he was charged and later convicted in the 1982 double murder of Chicago police officers William Fahey and Richard O’Brien.

Wilson’s brother Andrew was also convicted of that crime and died in prison in 2007. He was badly beaten by Chicago police, led by the disgraced former lieutenant Jon Burge.

Now, Jackie Wilson wants a new trial, saying his confession had been tortured out of him as well.

"The evidence at the new trial will be Jackie Wilson stood there in shock as his brother shot the two police officers. He's done 36 years for a crime his brother committed,” said attorney Flint Taylor.

But special prosecutors appointed by the state's attorney’s office say unlike his brother, Jackie Wilson was never beaten.

On Tuesday, a court reporter who took Wilson’s confession at the police station in 1982 testified Wilson was not physically harmed. But Wilson's attorneys tried to suggest the witness was protecting Burge.

There were a number of Chicago Police officers in the courtroom for the hearing, as were members of Officer Fahey's family, including his daughter, Jamie Fahey, who was just one-year-old when he died.

"It's unfortunate that we still have to be here and going through this as a family. We deserve closure. It's been a really, really, really long time,” said Jamie.

There will be at least one more hearing before Cook County judge William Hooks decides whether Wilson will get a new trial in this 36-year-old case.