Video: 15 Criminal Convictions Overturned Due To The Actions Of A Single US Slave Catcher

15 men have had their convictions overturned after being framed by a Cooke County, Illinois slave catcher. It is being reported that this could lead to even more people being released from prison slavery. All the men say they were framed by a so-called Black cop, Chicago Police Sgt. Ronald Watts. Watts and his fellow slave catchers planted drugs on their victims among other crimes. Watts was eventually busted with others in an FBI sting where he and a fellow officer were both recorded stealing $5,000 from a federal informant and in their guilty plea admitted to routinely extorting money from drug dealers. In a plea arrangement, Watts only served 22 months in prison but should face prosecution for his crimes that resulted in many people spending years in prison.

The 15 men who were released from prison after the green light was given by recently elected Cooke County DA Kym Foxx are Frank Saunders, Taurus Smith, Shaun James, Lionel White, Henry Thomas, Marcus Gibbs, Andre McNairy, Jamell Sanders, Christopher Scott, Thomas Jefferson, Lee Rainey, Allen Jackson, Jamar Lewis, Leonard Gipson and Philip Thomas.

“But this is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Joshua Tepfer, who works for the University of Chicago’s Exoneration Project, which drafted the petitions for the men. “The officers involved in this corruption were responsible for 1,000 arrests in this decadelong reign of terror,” he added. “Their arrests led to at least 500 convictions. So far 26 convictions have been overturned. That leaves about 474 not accounted for. What is also equally important is why some of these officers involved in this corruption are still on the police force,” Tepfer said. Foxx spokesman Robert Foley said the office is “looking into dozens of other cases and [has] identified a pattern within the cases which suggests corrupt activity involving Sgt. Watts and members of his crew.”. Read more…