Taylor v. City of Chicago et al.
Daniel Taylor was convicted of a brutal double homicide that he did not commit. Arrested at age 17, Mr. Taylor spent more than 20 years in prison before he was ultimately exonerated.
Mr. Taylor was in police custody on a disorderly conduct charge at the time of the murders and did not bond out until well after the crimes were committed. Nonetheless, determined to close the murder cases, the Chicago Police Department officers coerced false confessions from Mr. Taylor and hid exculpatory evidence that would have conclusively proven Mr. Taylor’s innocence.
Unfortunately, the misconduct that caused Mr. Taylor ’s wrongful conviction was not an isolated incident.
To the contrary, the Chicago Police Department, including officers working within the Department Area where this investigation occurred, engaged in a pattern of unlawfully coercing confessions over a period of years, frequently preying on young African-American men in order to close unsolved cases through overzealous methods of interrogation.
Likewise, the City of Chicago also has a pattern and practice of withholding exculpatory evidence in the Chicago Police Department “street files” from the courts, prosecutors and defendants, just as was done here.
Although Mr. Taylor has won back his freedom, he will never regain the decades lost in his life. This lawsuit sought redress for those injuries. In May 2022, Mr. Taylor had his civil settlement of $14.25 million approved by the Chicago City Council.
Key Documents
- Complaint
- First Amended Complaint
- Motion for Summary Judgment - 09/14/18
- Defendants' Memorandum of Law in Support of their Motion for Summary Judgement - 09/14/18
- Defendant's State of Material Facts - 09/14/18
- City of Chicago's Motion for Summary Judgement - 09/14/18
- Defendant City of Chicago's Local Rule 56.1(A)(3) Statement of Facts - 09/14/18
- City of Chicago's Motion for Summary Judgement (Corrected) - 09/14/18
- Motion for Summary Judgement - 10/26/18
- Defendants' Statement of Material Facts - 10/26/18
- Defendants' Memorandum of Law in Support of Their Motion for Summary Judgment - 10/26/18
- City of Chicago's Motion for Summary Judgment - 10/26/18
- Plaintiff's Response in Opposition to the Defendant Officers' Motion for Summary Judgement - 12/07/18
- Plaintiff's Response to Defendant City of Chicago's Motion for Summary Judgment - 12/07/18
- City of Chicago's Reply in Support of Its Motion for Summary Judgment - 02/28/19
- Defendant Officers' Reply in Support of their Motion for Summary Judgment - 02/28/19
- Memorandum Opinion and Order (U.S. District Court) - 09/23/19
In the News
-
Daniel Taylor Was Innocent. He Spent Decades in Prison Trying to Fix the State’s Mistake.
ProPublica May 25, 2022 -
Chicago City Council awards man $14.25M after 20+ years in prison for double murder he didn’t commit
ABC 7 Chicago May 23, 2022 -
$14.25M settlement proposed for man who spent 20 years in prison for double-murder he didn’t commit
Chicago Sun-Times May 17, 2022 -
How Two Newspaper Reporters Helped Free an Innocent Man
The Atlantic August 29, 2013 -
Daniel Taylor’s 20-year wrongful prison term
ABC7 June 30, 2013