Chicago City Wire

Detective defendants and the city of Chicago are asking a federal judge to dismiss all charges against them in a wrongful conviction suit filed by Demond Weston, convicted of a 1990 murder in the city’s Englewood section.

Weston claims he was forced by police into confessing to the murder of one year-old Joseph Watson but the wrongs he alleges “are either not legally cognizable or redressable via damages…Weston fails to carry his burden of proof for these wrongs in numerous ways,” the March 31 court filing said.

Besides the Watson murder, Weston was convicted of the attempted murders of three others. He was sentenced to 45 years for the murder and 30 years for three counts of attempted murder. The sentences were to run consecutively.

His charges were vacated in 2019 by Cook County Judge Angela Petrone even though Special Prosecutor in the case Robert Milan found the claims of abuse allegations of abuse “unsubstantiated.” Milan also noted that he believed the evidence against Weston did not prove him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Weston agreed not to seek a Certificate of Innocence, which comes with a guaranteed payout from the county. His agreement did not preclude his filing the wrongful conviction suit.

In addition, the Torture Inquiry & Relief Commission (TIRC) in its 2017 review which found “sufficient evidence of torture” to merit judicial review, noting noted that “the commission standard for referral is a lower standard than determining whether torture occurred.”

TIRC added that “whether to refer this case for judicial review is close question. While we view Weston’s late claim torture claims as highly dubious we conclude that the initial allegations coupled with the extensive complain histories of detectives involved merit judicial review.”

In their 89-page filing, lawyers for the defendants wrote that “surviving summary judgment, for these claims, would require this Court to permit speculation where specificity is required, credit hearsay over live testimony, and decline to follow the facts and law.”

“As detailed below,” the filing continued, “Weston’s factual allegations are untimely, missing entirely, or lacking sufficient detail. Weston’s legal arguments conflate theories, skirt elements, or depend on defunct case law. As a result, substantial waiver is present (on top of the claims being time-barred or lacking merit). Overall, Weston presents disputes of material fact that are disingenuous. But only genuine disputes may survive.

The lawyers also addressed Weston’s false evidence claims.

"The prosecutor’s unknowing introduction of false evidence did not violate Weston’s due process rights. Weston’s fabrication claim fails at the outset because he cannot show a constitutional violation as a basis for this §1983 claim.”

Weston's wrongful conviction case is one of hundreds pending in federal court. Former Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx exonerated over 200 in her eight years in office, many on claims of police and prosecutorial misconduct. Settlements in the cases have cost the city over $700 million since 2000.