An Illinois judge on Monday vacated the convictions of 18 more men investigated by a corrupt Chicago police sergeant, with a state's attorney later in the day apologizing for what they had to go through.
The latest dismissals, which prosecutors had requested, bring to 42 the total number of individuals investigated by then-Sgt. Ronald Watts who have had their convictions tossed in recent years. Watts and his crew of tactical officers allegedly shook down drug suspects, planted evidence and arranged false testimony to secure convictions.
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An Illinois judge on Monday vacated the convictions of 18 more men investigated by a corrupt Chicago police sergeant, with a state's attorney later in the day apologizing for what they had to go through.
One man cleared Monday, Martez Wise, spent time behind bars after Watts and another officer arrested him in 2006, falsely accusing him of spitting drugs out of his mouth.
Joel Flaxman, an attorney for six of the men whose convictions were thrown out, said in a statement that the justice system ignored the men for over a decade.
A conviction-integrity unit is still looking at other cases involving Watts and his men.
Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx, center, speaks at a press conference at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse after a Cook County judge overturned the convictions of 18 men, including Martez Wise, left, who had drugs planted on them by a rogue band of Chicago police officers, Monday morning, Sept. 24, 2018. (Ashlee RezinChicago Sun-Times via AP)
"The system owes an apology to the men who stand behind us," Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx — flanked by some of those exonerated — told reporters after Monday's hearing. Foxx, who wasn't state's attorney when the abuses by Watts occurred, added: "When things have gone wrong, we have to actively work to fix them."
Joshua Tepfer, an attorney with the Exoneration Project, speaks at a press conference at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse in Chicago after a Cook County judge overturned the convictions of 18 men who had drugs planted on them by a rogue band of Chicago police officers, Monday morning, Sept. 24, 2018. (Ashlee RezinChicago Sun-Times via AP)
One man cleared Monday, Martez Wise, spent time behind bars after Watts and another officer arrested him in 2006, falsely accusing him of spitting drugs out of his mouth.
"I'm just happy that I'm able to move forward with my life," he said. "It's been four years out of my life that I had to be away from my family and kids. ... They had to suffer too because I had to be away from them
Authorities arrested Watt and another officer in 2012 after they shook down a drug courier who turned out to be an FBI informant. Watts received a 22-month sentence.
Attorney Joel Flaxman speaks at a press conference at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse in Chicago after a Cook County judge overturned the convictions of 18 men who had drugs planted on them by a rogue band of Chicago police officers, Monday morning, Sept. 24, 2018. (Ashlee RezinChicago Sun-Times via AP)
Joel Flaxman, an attorney for six of the men whose convictions were thrown out, said in a statement that the justice system ignored the men for over a decade.
"The system is finally listening, and we are finally seeing a measure of justice and accountability," he said.
The latest reversals involve drug cases brought between 2003 and 2008. The defendants received sentences ranging from probation to several years in prison, so any imprisoned have long since been released.
Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx speaks at a press conference at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse in Chicago after a Cook County judge overturned the convictions of 18 men who had drugs planted on them by a rogue band of Chicago police officers, Monday morning, Sept. 24, 2018. (Ashlee RezinChicago Sun-Times via AP)
A conviction-integrity unit is still looking at other cases involving Watts and his men.
Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx, center, speaks at a press conference at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse after a Cook County judge overturned the convictions of 18 men, including Martez Wise, left, who had drugs planted on them by a rogue band of Chicago police officers, Monday morning, Sept. 24, 2018. (Ashlee RezinChicago Sun-Times via AP)
Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx, center, speaks at a press conference at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse after a Cook County judge overturned the convictions of 18 men, including Martez Wise, left, who had drugs planted on them by a rogue band of Chicago police officers, Monday morning, Sept. 24, 2018. (Ashlee RezinChicago Sun-Times via AP)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Israel this week briefed Biden administration officials on a plan to evacuate Palestinian civilians ahead of a potential operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah aimed at rooting out Hamas militants, according to U.S. officials familiar with the talks.
The officials, who were not authorized to comment publicly and requested anonymity to speak about the sensitive exchange, said that the plan detailed by the Israelis did not change the U.S. administration’s view that moving forward with an operation in Rafah would put too many innocent Palestinian civilians at risk.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to carry out a military operation in Rafah despite warnings from President Joe Biden and other western officials that doing so would result in more civilian deaths and worsen an already dire humanitarian crisis.
The Biden administration has said there could be consequences for Israel should it move forward with the operation without a credible plan to safeguard civilians.
“Absent such a plan, we can’t support a major military operation going into Rafah because the damage it would do is beyond what’s acceptable,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said late Friday at the Sedona Forum, an event in Arizona hosted by the McCain Institute.
Some 1.5 million Palestinians have sheltered in the southern Gaza city as the territory has been ravaged by the war that began on Oct. 7 after Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages.
The United Nations humanitarian aid agency on Friday said that hundreds of thousands of people would be “at imminent risk of death” if Israel moves forward with the Rafah assault. The border city is a critical entry point for humanitarian aid and is filled with displaced Palestinians, many in densely packed tent camps.
The officials added that the evacuation plan that the Israelis briefed was not finalized and both sides agreed to keep discussing the matter.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Friday that no “comprehensive” plan for a potential Rafah operation has been revealed by the Israelis to the White House. The operation, however, has been discussed during recent calls between Biden and Netanyahu as well as during recent virtual talks with top Israeli and U.S. national security officials.
“We want to make sure that those conversations continue because it is important to protect those Palestinian lives — those innocent lives,” Jean-Pierre said.
The revelation of Israel's continued push to carry out a Rafah operation came as CIA director William Burns arrived Friday in Egypt, where negotiators are trying to seal a cease-fire accord between Israel and Hamas.
Hamas is considering the latest proposal for a cease-fire and hostage release put forward by U.S., Egyptian and Qatari mediators, who are looking to avert the Rafah operation.
They have publicly pressed Hamas to accept the terms of the deal that would lead to an extended cease-fire and an exchange of Israeli hostages taken captive on Oct. 7 and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
Hamas has said it will send a delegation to Cairo in the coming days for further discussions on the offer, though it has not specified when.
Israel, and its allies, have sought to increase pressure on Hamas on the hostage negotiation. Signaling that Israel continues to move forward with its planning for a Rafah operation could be a tactic to nudge the militants to finalize the deal.
Netanyahu said earlier this week that Israeli forces would enter Rafah, which Israel says is Hamas’ last stronghold, regardless of whether a truce-for-hostages deal is struck. His comments appeared to be meant to appease his nationalist governing partners, and it was not clear whether they would have any bearing on any emerging deal with Hamas.
Blinken visited the region, including Israel, this week and called the latest proposal “extraordinarily generous” and said “the time to act is now.”
In Arizona on Friday, Blinken repeated remarks he made earlier this week that "the only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a cease-fire is Hamas.”
The Chahine family prepares to bury two adults and five boys and girls under the age of 16 after an overnight Israeli strike in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Friday, May 3, 2024. An Israeli strike on the city of Rafah on the southern edge of the Gaza Strip killed several people, including children, hospital officials said Friday. (AP Photo/Ismael Abu Dayyah)
FILE - Palestinians line up for free food during the ongoing Israeli air and ground offensive on the Gaza Strip in Rafah, Jan. 9, 2024. A top U.N. official said Friday, May 3, 2024, that hard-hit northern Gaza was now in “full-blown famine" after more than six months of war between Israel and Hamas and severe Israeli restrictions on food deliveries to the Palestinian territory. (AP Photo/Hatem Ali, File)
Palestinians rescue a woman survived after the Israeli bombardment on a residential building of Abu Alenan family in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, early Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Ismael Abu Dayyah)
President Joe Biden walks across the South Lawn of the White House as he talks with White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Washington, after returning from a trip to North Carolina. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
