ANTHONY MITCHELL, left, and John Fulton, right, were each awarded $60 million in damages on Monday for their wrongful conviction in a 2003 murder in Chicago. (Photo Credit: Loevy + Loevy)
Two wrongfully convicted men who spent a combined 32 years in prison for a murder in 2003 were awarded $120 million by a jury on Monday, March 10.
The recent jury awards highlight the pressing issue of wrongful convictions in the United States. Such jury awards are significant as they recognize the struggle of wrongfully convicted individuals. These jury awards serve as a reminder of the impact that flawed legal processes can have on lives. The jury awards also emphasize the need for reforms in law enforcement practices.
In addition, these jury awards can pave the way for future policy changes to prevent similar injustices. The jury awards granted in this case signal a shift toward accountability in the justice system. These jury awards highlight the importance of thorough investigations in criminal cases.
John Fulton and Anthony Mitchell, both African American, will each receive $60 million, decades after they were convicted in 2006 of the first-degree murder of 18-year-old Christopher Collazo. The white teenager’s body was found bound with duct tape and partially burned in an alley in the Back of the Yards neighborhood.
As such, jury awards can play a critical role in restoring trust in the judicial system. The recent jury awards also raise awareness about the consequences of wrongful convictions. Fulton was 18 and Mitchell was 17 when they were arrested for the crime. Each spent 16 years in prison before being released in 2019.
Ultimately, these jury awards seek to provide some measure of justice for the victims. Future jury awards could help shape the landscape of wrongful conviction cases moving forward. As the public observes these jury awards, there may be increased calls for systemic change.
No physical evidence tied the men to Collazo’s death. In court, both testified they confessed to killing Collazo after Chicago police detectives promised them leniency, threatened them with physical violence and physically abused them.
The only evidence against the teenagers came from a 17-year-old girl who told police Collazo sold guns to people in the neighborhood and clashed with Fulton. The girl later recanted her identification of Fulton and Mitchell as the killers.
A police officer testified that Fulton spontaneously confessed to the murder just before he gave Fulton a lie detector test. However, according to Fulton’s lawsuit, that officer made the same claim more than 100 times in other cases in a five-year period.
Cook County Circuit Court Judge Lawrence Flood granted Fulton and Mitchell a new trial after ruling that jurors in their cases should have heard evidence that a surveillance camera near the back door to Fulton’s home did not capture them leaving before and after the murder.
That door was also opened with an electronic key that would have shown Fulton’s key was not used to enter the door at the time of Collazo’s murder.
Lawyers for the firm Loevy and Loevy, which represented Fulton and Mitchell, accused Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office prosecutors of deliberately obscuring evidence about the cameras and the electronic key.
Flood overturned their convictions and ordered a new trial before prosecutors dropped the charges against them. A spokesperson for the Chicago Department of Law vowed to appeal the verdict. If the Fulton and Mitchell verdict is upheld, the award would be the largest of any brought to trial against the City of Chicago. Court records, however, show a pending suit asking for an award larger than Fulton and Mitchell’s.
In October, James Soto, 63, filed a lawsuit that asks for $200 million against the City of Chicago after he spent more than 42 years in prison.
Soto was 20 in 1981 when police accused him of carrying out a drive-by shooting during a softball game in Piotrowski Park at 31st Street and Keeler Avenue. The shooting killed a 16-year-old girl and an 18-year-old Marine home on leave.
Soto and his cousin David Ayala were convicted of murder and given life sentences. They were exonerated in 2023 after a Cook County judge vacated the convictions after each served years in prison.
According to the lawsuit, detectives faced pressure to convict someone and allegedly coerced a man named Wally Cruz to falsely confess that Ayala ordered the killings. Cruz had claimed that he drove Soto and another alleged shooter to the park, where they opened fire from a gangway because Latin King members were present.
Last September, a jury awarded $50 million to Marcel Brown after he spent 10 years in jail for murdering 19-year-old Paris Jackson in 2008 in Amundsen Park on the west side of Chicago. He was sentenced to 35 years in prison; he served 10. Brown was exonerated in 2018.
According to the National Registry of Exonerations, on September 3, 2008, police arrested Brown at his home and took him to a Chicago police station. He had no criminal record. There, Brown was interrogated for 34 hours before he falsely confessed to being part of the crime. His video-recorded interrogation cumulatively totaled 5 to 5 ½ hours.
During the marathon interrogation, Brown said he was denied legal counsel, phone calls to his family, and provided little food. His interrogation was recorded on video, which became key evidence in the case.