Jon Burge | |
|---|---|
 Burge in 2010 | |
| Born | Jon Graham Burge December 20, 1947 |
| Died | September 19, 2018 (aged 70) Apollo Beach, Florida, U.S. |
| Education | University of Missouri |
| Occupation | Police commander |
| Employer | Chicago Police Department |
| Known for | Police brutality |
| Title | Detective Commander |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service | United States Army/United States Army Reserve |
| Years of service | 1966–1972 |
| Rank | Sergeant |
| Unit | Ninth Military Police Company of the Ninth Infantry Division |
| Battles / wars | Vietnam War |
| Awards | Bronze Star Purple Heart Army Commendation Medal (two) Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry |
Jon Graham Burge (December 20, 1947 – September 19, 2018) was an American police detective and commander in the Chicago Police Department. He was found guilty of lying about "directly participat[ing] in or implicitly approv[ing] the torture" of at least 118 people in police custody in order to force false confessions.[1]
A United States Army veteran, Burge had served tours in South Korea and Vietnam. When he returned to the South Side of Chicago, he began a career as a city police officer, ending it as a commander. Following the shooting of several Chicago law enforcement officers in 1982, the police obtained confessions that contributed to convictions of two people. One filed a civil suit in 1989 against Burge, other officers, and the city, for police torture and cover-up; Burge was acquitted in 1989 because of a hung jury. He was suspended from the Chicago Police Department in 1991 and fired in 1993.
In 2002, a four-year review revealed numerous indictable crimes and other improprieties, but no indictments were made against Burge or his officers, as the statute of limitations for the crimes had expired. In 2003, Governor George Ryan pardoned four of Burge's victims who were on death row and whose convictions were based on coerced confessions.[2][3]
In 2008, Patrick Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for Northern Illinois, charged Burge with obstruction of justice and perjury in relation to testimony in a 2003 civil suit against him for damages for alleged torture. Burge was convicted on all counts on June 28, 2010, and sentenced to four and a half years in federal prison on January 21, 2011. He was released on October 3, 2014.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Baker2019was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Wilgoren, Jodi (January 10, 2003). "Illinois Expected To Free 4 Inmates". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 3, 2012. Retrieved November 17, 2007.
- ^ Flock, Jeff (January 13, 2003). "'Blanket commutation' empties Illinois death row". CNN. Archived from the original on February 8, 2008. Retrieved October 5, 2007.