More convictions tied to disgraced ex-cop thrown out

Ronald Watts
Former Chicago police Sgt. Ronald Watts, right, leaves the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse after being sentenced to 22 months in prison in 2013. Photo credit (Photo by Phil Velasquez/Chicago Tribune/TNS/Sipa USA)

CHICAGO (AP) — A judge has thrown out 44 more convictions tied to a notorious former Chicago police sergeant who regularly framed people for drug crimes they didn't commit.

Victim advocates say the exonerations Friday would be among the last from one of the most disgraceful chapters in the department's history.

The dismissals bring to more than 170 Black defendants who have seen their drug convictions in cases tied to former Sgt. Ronald Watts and his tactical unit dismissed in recent years. Watts and another officer pleaded guilty in 2013 to stealing money from an FBI informant and Watts was sentenced to 22 months in prison.

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Featured Image Photo Credit: (Photo by Phil Velasquez/Chicago Tribune/TNS/Sipa USA)