Reginald Henderson (right) and Sean Tyler (center) speak to reporters Wednesday morning at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse after a hearing on their petitions for certificates of innocence in a 1994 murder case that was vacated over allegations of police torture.
Matthew Hendrickson/Sun-Times
Cook County prosecutors have dropped their opposition against two brothers receiving a certificate of innocence in a 1994 murder case that was overturned based on allegations of torture by detectives working under disgraced Chicago Police Cmdr. Jon Burge.
Cook County prosecutors have dropped their opposition to two brothers receiving certificates of innocence in a 1994 murder case that was overturned based on allegations of torture by detectives working under disgraced Chicago Police Cmdr. Jon Burge.
Flanked by more than a dozen supporters, Reginald Henderson and his brother Sean Tyler had hoped Wednesday would finally be the day that they received the long-sought acknowledgment from the court that they were innocent.
Instead, they learned they would have to wait a little longer.
During a brief hearing, prosecutors told Judge Erica Reddick that the state’s attorney’s office would no longer oppose the brothers’ petitions for certificates of innocence — which in addition to clearing their names would also entitle them to state restitution funds.
A spokeswoman for State’s Attorney Kim Foxx did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the decision.
Reddick said she needed more time to review case records and set a date for April 2, when she said she hoped to have her ruling.
“I feel good about what the state did,” Tyler said at a news conference after the hearing. “I kinda hate that it took 30 years for it to happen, but nonetheless I do appreciate them removing themselves and not opposing.”
He and his brother both served their entire sentences — more than 25 years each — while they fought their convictions.
In fall of 2021, prosecutors agreed to vacate their convictions, then dropped all charges. But they continued to oppose granting certificates of innocence, which would remove records of their arrest and charges and entitle them to a payout of likely a little more than $200,000 from a state fund for people wrongfully convicted.
Getting a case overturned isn’t enough, and actual innocence must be proven by the brothers to receive a certificate.
Since Tyler and Henderson were convicted, several witnesses have recanted their testimony and the abuses by Burge and his detectives have become widely known.
But prosecutors previously pointed to a woman who told defense lawyers that police pressed her to identify Tyler and Henderson and had paid her $1,100 to move from the neighborhood. She has since said told investigators that her testimony was true.
In court filings, the brothers have alleged they were targeted by detectives working for Burge because they testified for the defense in the case of 13-year-old Marcus Wiggins, who claimed he confessed to a 1991 murder after police torture.
The detectives accused the brothers of involvement in the shooting of 10-year-old Rodney Collins, who was killed by a stray bullet during a gang gunfight in Back of the Yards.
Henderson claims he was beaten by detectives and left handcuffed in an interrogation room without food or access to a bathroom before he signed a confession after more than 48 hours in custody.
His brother was arrested the next day and also alleges he was abused before confessing.
Burge was fired in 1993 and was convicted in 2010 of lying under oath while being questioned for lawsuits brought by men claiming they were tortured by Burge or his detectives.
The former commander was sentenced to more than four years in prison. He died in 2018.
Tyler said he would return to the courthouse again next month with his family and supporters.
“We came here expecting full justice to be served and this really to be put to bed,” Tyler said. “It kinda sucks justice takes this long, but it is what it is.”