Prosecutors move to reverse 6 convictions tied to Sgt. Ronald Watts
CHICAGO - The Cook County state’s attorney’s office moved to vacate the wrongful convictions of six people as part of the office’s ongoing review of the misconduct of corrupt former Chicago Police Sgt. Ronald Watts.
In a virtual court hearing Tuesday, Cook County Judge Leroy K. Martin, Jr., granted the motions to vacate six convictions tied to Watts, the state’s attorney’s office said in a statement.
Since 2016, Cook County prosecutors have reversed a total of 100 cases involving former Sergeant Watts, State’s Attorney Kim Foxx said in the statement.
“The seeds of distrust for our criminal justice system run deeply in communities most impacted by violence because of people in power like Sergeant Watts and his cronies who targeted and criminally preyed on these communities, leaving these neighborhoods feeling like their voice didn’t matter,” Foxx said.
“It erodes public safety when people suffer in silence because they’ve lost faith in law enforcement,” Foxx said. “Today I stand with these communities in saying I hear you and I see you. Your voice does matter. Little by little we will continue to work at restoring justice, like we’ve done today, regardless of what zip code someone calls home.”
The state’s attorney’s Conviction Integrity Unit reviewed the convictions and determined they were lacked confidence of the initial arrests and validity of the convictions.