Man who claimed Burge-related torture granted early release after 35 years in prison
Agrees not to seek certificate of innocence
A Chicago man who said he was forced to confess to robbery, rape and attempted murder charges when detectives repeatedly “bagged and beat him” was granted early release from prison Tuesday after spending more than 35 years behind bars.
Gregory Nash, 57, was arrested in 1983 as a suspect in a string of armed robberies, including one that involved a shootout with an of an off-duty Chicago police officer, and another that involved a rape.
Nash was arrested on an informant’s tip and taken to Area 2 headquarters, where he said detectives working under Chicago Police Cmdr. Jon Burge placed a plastic bag over his head and beat him with a wooden pole until he agreed to sign confessions — a claim disputed by special Cook County prosecutors appointed to handle the case.
After three days of testimony before Judge Thaddeus Wilson last week, the special prosecutors agreed to vacate Nash’s convictions in the two cases that netted Nash two consecutive 60-year prison sentences and an additional 15-year term in exchange for concurrent sentences.
Another key feature of the deal with the special prosecutors: Nash cannot seek a certificate of innocence, which would allow him to clear the convictions from his record and receive a state payout of up to $200,000. He also agreed not to “seek compensation from any fund,” potentially barring him from filing a civil rights lawsuit over his torture allegations.
Prior to the deal, Nash had been scheduled for parole in 2050, according to Illinois Department of Corrections records. Under terms of his new sentences, which allow him credit for good behavior behind bars, Nash will be free as soon as prison officials are able to process his release, Wilson said at a hearing Tuesday.
Nash’s lawyers and Special Prosecutor Robert Milan both declined comment on the deal.
Internal CPD investigations had determined that there was systematic abuse of suspects at Area 2 under Burge dating back to the years when Nash was interrogated, and in the decades since, scores of defendants have claimed abuse at the hands of Area 2 officers. Many have won their freedom, and have gone on to win civil lawsuits against the city. Burge-related cases have cost the city more than $100 million in civil judgments and settlement payouts.
Burge was fired by CPD in 1993, and later served time in federal prison for perjury related to the torture accusations against him.