Chicago resident Michael Tillman was arrested on July 22, 1986 (Sun-Times) for the murder, rape and kidnapping of 42-year-old Betty Howard. He says that for three days, police officers beat him with a phone book, punched him until he vomited blood and waterboarded him with a plastic bag over his head and soda poured into his nose.
He finally confessed to the heinous acts and was sentenced to life in prison. Trouble is, he didn't commit the crime and there was no evidence linking him to it. Adding insult to injury, the real killer was arrested and convicted of the rape and murder shortly thereafter (linked to the crime scene by fingerprints and in possession of the victim's belongings) but Tillman still was not able to achieve his freedom.
Finally, after 23 lost years, Tillman is free to be with his family and chart his own course after an assistant Cook County State's Attorney asked Judge Vincent Gaughan to drop charges and release him:
"It felt good, and I'm glad justice finally prevailed," Tillman said after being released.
His lawyer, Chicago criminal attorney Flint Taylor, also plans to help Tillman get a formal exoneration and compensation for his wrongful imprisonment.
Tillman was granted a new trial in 1991, based on the actual guilty party's conviction, but an appellate court incredulously decided that his confession was sufficient despite the lack of evidence. Howard's family members, however, maintain to this day that Tillman was somehow involved in the incident.
And the officers responsible for Tillman's torture? More than 20 officers have been accused of torturing confessions from murder victims in the 1970s and 1980s, while former Police Cmdr. Jon Burge awaits trial on perjury and obstruction of justice charges. If convicted, there's a recently vacated cell waiting for him.
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False Confessions/Admissions (Innocence Project)
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