After spending 14 years in prison for a murder he did not commit, Wayne Washington is finally a fully free man. 

CHICAGO – On Tuesday, the Illinois Supreme Court reversed the Illinois Appellate Court’s decision and granted a certificate of innocence to Wayne Washington after he was wrongfully convicted of murder and spent 14 years in prison. With the Supreme Court’s ruling, Mr. Washington is finally a fully free man 30 years after this nightmare began for him and eight years after he was exonerated. 

“Despite my exoneration, I’ve spent the last eight years fighting to have my innocence formerly recognized by the State of Illinois,” Mr. Washington said. “For the first time in 30 years, I’ll be able to pass a background test, allowing me the chance at a good job and the ability to chaperone at my child’s school – things people might take for granted, but I’m not able to do without this certificate.” 

Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Executive Director David Shapiro, who briefed and argued the case while with the MacArthur Justice Center, called the decision a long-overdue victory for Mr. Washington. 

“He courageously maintained his innocence and fought to establish it officially for decades, and today a judicial order finally decrees what should have been obvious from day one – Mr. Washington had no role in the crime.” Shapiro said. 

Mr. Washington was wrongfully convicted of the 1993 murder of Marshall Morgan, Jr., alongside his equally innocent codefendant Tyrone Hood. After watching Mr. Hood receive a 75-year sentence for a crime he did not commit, Mr. Washington took a plea deal out of fear and desperation – he is among the nearly one-fifth of exonerees who plead guilty despite their innocence. Mr. Washington spent 14 years in prison before being released on parole. In 2015, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office vacated Mr. Washington’s wrongful conviction and dismissed all charges against him after acknowledging evidence that Mr. Morgan, Jr. was murdered by his father, Marshall Morgan, Sr., for a life insurance policy. 

The Appellate Court’s decision to deny Mr. Washington a certificate of innocence was based on its erroneous assertion that a guilty plea automatically vetoes a certificate of innocence – a clear departure from precedent, given Illinois circuit courts have previously granted certificates of innocence to innocent people who pled guilty in at least 77 cases. If left to stand, the First District’s decision would have undermined the certificate of innocence statute’s very intent to remove barriers preventing innocent people from clearing their name. 

“Illinois leads the nation in wrongful convictions,” said Steve Greenberg, an attorney for Mr. Washington. “The lower court imposed a needless obstacle to accountability. The last thing we needed was a rule saying you can’t get a certificate of innocence if you plead guilty. The Supreme Court’s has now set the law straight.”

The Illinois Supreme Court disputed the lower court’s interpretation of the certificate of innocence statute, finding nothing in plain language that precludes plea petitioners from obtaining a certificate of innocence.

“The First District’s restrictive reading of the statute does not align with the statutory language or legislative intent,” the majority opinion read. “By precluding innocent petitioners who pleaded guilty, whether or not they voluntarily caused or brought about their convictions, the courts’ ruling imposes both technical and substantive obstacles. Not only does that interpretation conflict with the legislative intent, it also conflicts with numerous decisions of lower courts that have issued certificates of innocence to petitioners who pleaded guilty.” 

Furthermore, while in custody, Mr. Washington was physically abused into a false confession by two detectives and acolytes of disgraced former police commander Jon Burge, who became notorious for torturing suspects and witnesses and fabricating evidence to obtain convictions. After days of abuse, the detectives managed to beat Mr. Washington into signing a false confession. The First District’s ruling went so far as to classify Mr. Washington’s statement as a “voluntary” confession, despite clear evidence of coercion. The Illinois Supreme Court disagreed with this assessment as well. 

“Contrary to the view of the lower courts, petitioner presented unrebutted and compelling evidence of police coercion that resulted in him confessing to a crime he did not commit and subsequently agreeing to plead guilty to it,” it wrote. 

“It feels good that the Court didn’t just acknowledge my deservedness of the certificate but also the ordeal I went through at the hands of Chicago police detectives,” Mr. Washington said. “I’m ready to move forward with my life and rebuild what was taken from me over all of these years.” 

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About the MacArthur Justice Center 

The Roderick & Solange MacArthur Justice Center (MJC) is a national, nonprofit legal organization dedicated to protecting civil rights and fighting injustice in the criminal legal system through litigation at the trial, appellate, and Supreme Court levels. For more information, visit www.macarthurjustice.org. 

About Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights 

Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights is a non-partisan, non-profit group of civil rights lawyers and advocates working to secure racial equity and economic opportunity for all. We provide legal representation through partnerships with the private bar, and we collaborate with grassroots organizations and other advocacy groups to implement community-based solutions that advance civil rights. For more information, visit www.clccrul.org or call (312) 630-9744.