Prepare yourself for the knowledge we’re about to drop in your feed. Y’all gone learn some more about Gerald Reed and his court date tomorrow! Leggo! #FreeGeraldReed
Gerald is one of the 120 victims of Jon Burge’s midnight crew and is still incarcerated for a double murder that he did not commit. #FreeGeraldReed
Burge, as a detective on the force and later a commander, led a group of violent detectives dubbed his “Midnight Crew” to torture Black and Latinx people into admitting to crimes they didn’t commit. #FreeGeraldReed
Survivors have relayed countless stories about being beaten with phone books to hide bruises, having guns shoved into their mouths and listening to the trigger being pulled over and over again, electrocution, and being kicked and beaten daily. #FreeGeraldReed #FreeEmAll
October 3, 1990, Gerald was arrested and questioned regarding the double murder of Willie Williams and Pamela Powers that had taken place 2 days before. He was “questioned” by Dets. Michael Kill and Victor Breska at Area 3 Homicide. #FreeGeraldReed #FreeEmAll
They tortured Gerald by beating and kicking him until the metal rod in his right thigh - surgically placed to mend his gunshot shattered thigh bone - was broken. #FreeGeraldReed
29 years later, we’re still fighting for him. Last month we joined Gerald and his family in court where Judge Thomas Hennelly was expected to render his verdict on the motion to dismiss the charges against Gerald. #FreeGeraldReed
But, instead of rendering his verdict, he complained that he didn’t have Gerald’s “written confession” from his first trial and that he couldn’t move forward with a decision until it was physically in his hands (he has a PDF but, Ok, Boomer). #FreeGeraldReed
Some facts on Hennelly: He studied under Bob Milan. Milan is a special prosecutor. And not just any special prosecutor - he was one of the lawyers that defended Jon Burge. #FreeGeraldReed
And it gets stickier - Milan is also one of the special prosecutors on Reed’s case. This is a clear conflict of interest. #FreeGeraldReed
Last December before his retirement, Judge Thomas Gainer ruled that Gerald’s confession to the double murder was due to his being tortured into confessing. bit.ly/2r3YKTT #FreeGeraldReed
As such, Gainer threw out his confession and granted him a new trial. Gerald’s bond hearing was supposed to take place in early January, but since Hennelly has inherited the case, he’s done everything he can to keep from setting Reed’s bail. #FreeGeraldReed
Special Prosecutor Milan is intent on getting a conviction on Gerald. So it makes sense that Hennelly would act in favor of his mentor. And while they play games, a man’s life is at stake. #FreeGeraldReed
Gerald's in a wheelchair and unable to walk due to the broken rod in his thigh. He didn’t receive the 1st surgery to fix the rod til 27 YEARS AFTER THE INJURY. When he was supposed to get his 2nd surgery, he suffered a heart attack and the surgery was canceled. #FreeGeraldReed
While incarcerated Gerald has also become pre-diabetic. Earlier this year he contracted the flu and went into a coma, and later suffered a heart attack. #FreeGeraldReed
At the end of September Gerald collapsed and, due to overcrowding, was left on the floor of the jail hospital until the next day after dozens of organizers and supporters called the commissioner's office to have him moved to an outside hospital. #FreeGeraldReed
Gerald has been incarcerated for 29 years now. His confession to the murder he did not commit was thrown out over 10 months ago. He is an innocent man, is sick and should be home with his family. His freedom is held hostage by a corrupt judge and greedy SPs. #FreeGeraldReed
For every day that he is in court for this case, SP Milan gets $500/hr. That means that he gets PAID (with our tax $!) to use delay tactics and keep Gerald in prison. To date SPs have made $5,681,093. 36 from this case. His greediness has no conscience. #FreeGeraldReed
Reed was tortured into confessing to a double murder that he did not commit. Even after taking it back during the trial and confessing about his torture, even w/o any evidence to convict him, Gerald was convicted and sentenced to LIFE in prison w/o parole. #FreeGeraldReed
For the first and only time in this country’s history, the Reparations Ordinance for survivors of police torture was passed by City Council May 6, 2015. Chicago is revolutionary in the fight that organizers have led to justice for victims of police violence #FreeGeraldReed
And we’ll keep leading the fight. The released torture survivors would never have been released without organizers uplifting their stories! Not without people of this city demanding their release and reparations for the trauma they endured. #FreeGeraldReed #FreeEmAll
We do this for Gerald Reed, for all survivors, for everyone affected by the whole damn system. The prison industrial complex and police are directly connected to white supremacy and violence against Black bodies. #FreeGeraldReed #FreeThemAll
This Wednesday, join @BLMchi, @ChiTorture and @CAARPR at 9:00 AM at 26th & Cali in room 604 to support Gerald Reed and demand his freedom. We know for a fact that when we fight we win. #FreeGeraldReed #FreeEmAll
