Burge Closing Delayed Until Thursday

Burge denies torturing suspects

Testimony has ended in the Jon Burge perjury and obstruction of justice trial.

Defense attorneys for the former Chicago police commander accused of lying about the torture of suspects wrapped up their case Tuesday. 

Closing arguments had been expected to begin Wednesday morning, but an "undisclosed emergency among the lawyers" has delayed that until Thursday, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

Burge testified in his own defense for more than seven hours over two days. He denied ever physically abusing any suspects or witnessing any other officers doing so.
 
Burge has pleaded not guilty to federal perjury and obstruction of justice charges. He's accused of lying in a civil suit when he denied ever seeing or participating in torture.
 
Among other witnesses, defense attorneys have also called an inmate who says detainees at Cook County Jail used to get together to make up stories about being beaten by Burge and his men.

Ricky Shaw, who is at the tail end of a 50-year sentence for armed robbery, testified Monday at Burge's perjury and obstruction of justice trial. 

Shaw testified that former gang leader Melvin Jones used to organize men to make up stories about Burge and his officers.

"[Jones] said he was never abused. He never got electroshocked, but that were other people who had already made the claim.  He said he had lawyers and everybody dying to get on the case, that there were movie deals and book deals," Shaw said, dressed in an orange jumpsuit with shackled hands and feet hidden from jurors.

On cross examination, Assistant U.S. Attorney David Weisman tried to discredit Shaw, citing numerous times that Shaw had been disciplined for lying to authorities at various prisons around Illinois.

Also on the stand Monday was former Cook county State's Attorney Paul Kaymen, who took statments from Burge accuser Anthony Holmes in the case of the murder of Joe Murphy.

Kayman told the jury that he saw nothing out of the ordinary when he went to Area Two with a court reporter to take the statements.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
Contact Us