(1) Decisions in the cases of Jerry Mahaffey and Jackie Wilson
(2) Possible legislative action to appoint a crime victim representative to the commission
With respect to the latter: some Illinois State Legislators argue a representative of crime victims -- i.e. the victims of the crime for which torture victims were charged -- should sit on the commission. It is important to remember that the work of the commission is to inquire into instances of police torture and to make recommendations for relief for torture victims. In the work of the torture commission, the views of crime victims have no bearing on the question of whether defendants were tortured, and have no bearing on the question of whether those defendants who were tortured deserve relief. (This is not to in any way question the importance of the views of crime victims in the overall justice system.)
The commission meetings are open to the public. The Chicago Alliance Against Racism and Political Repression strongly recommends that members of the public who wish to assure that of the work of the Illinois Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission proceeds in a focused fashion are encouraged to attend the March 5 meeting.
Related update:
Also this Wednesday at 2:00PM Mark Clements will be filing a complaint with the Illinois Torture Inquiry Relief Commission involving his 1981 torture at the hands of Detectives John McCann and Daniel McWeeny. At 2:30PM there will be a brief news conference to announce the filing and the need for Illinois State Legislators to extend the commission beyond August, 2014.
