CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Attorneys for people who claimed wrongful convictions after being framed by corrupt former Chicago Police Sgt. Ronald Watts had hoped that 88 more convictions would be vacated Thursday.
Attorneys read all 88 of the convicteds' names into the record but the state was only prepared to move forward with five cases, bringing the total number of vacated cases involving Watts and his crew to 114. All of the defendants were Black.
That doesn't mean the other 83 won't be vacated as well. Prosecutors just need more time for review.
Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx said, in a statement, "As prosecutors, we know that harm was caused, some of it was done by this office, and it is now our duty to make sure that those harms are addressed and never repeated.”
Attorneys for the exoneration project said the convictions overturned so far represent nearly 300 years spent in prison.
Watts, who went to prison in 2013, served 22 months.
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