Jon Burge - Arrest

Arrest

Although Burge had been presumed to be protected by a statute of limitations, the US Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Patrick Fitzgerald, in October 2008 charged Burge with two counts of obstruction of justice and one count of perjury. Burge was arrested on October 21, 2008 at his home in Apollo Beach by FBI agents.

Under the charges, Burge could have been subject to 40 years in prison for the two obstruction counts and five years on the perjury count. The charges were the result of convicted felon Madison Hobley's 2003 civil rights lawsuit alleging police beatings, electric shocks and death threats by Burge and other officers against dozens of criminal suspects.

Burge pleaded not guilty and was released on $250,000 bond. Fitzgerald noted that although Burge was being charged with lying and not the torture to which the statute of limitations applied, he believed Burge to be guilty of both. In the October 21 press conference, Fitzgerald stated that Burge had "lied and impeded court proceedings" during his 2003 written testimony. In the indictment, the prosecution stated that Burge understood that he was a participant in and was aware of "such events involving the abuse or torture of people in custody". The trial had been set for May 11, 2009. Instead, on April 29, Burge filed a change-of-venue motion and the trial in relation to a lawsuit filed by former Death Row inmate Madison Hobley was set for October 29, 2009.

Also in April, Cortez Brown, who had sought a new trial with respect to two 1990 murders and who had already subpoenaed two Chicago police detectives for his May 18, 2009 hearing, won the right to subpoena Burge from a Cook County Judge. Burge was expected to exercise his 5th Amendment right not to incriminate himself. However, the Florida judge refused to grant such a subpoena given the likelihood that Burge would exercise this right.

On May 6, jury selection began for the trial. 80 potential jurors were given a 29-page questionnaire to complete. Attorneys had until May 24 to review the questionnaires before final jury selection began. An additional batch of 90 potential jurors was given a questionnaire on May 17. The trial heard its first testimony on May 26. Burge testified in his own defense for six hours on June 17 and on subsequent days. Closing arguments were heard on June 24, and jury deliberations began on June 25. On June 28, Burge was convicted on all three counts: two counts of obstruction of justice and one count of perjury.

On January 21, 2011, Burge was sentenced to four and a half years in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow, who had refused to withdraw from the case. The federal probation office had recommended a 15- to 21-month sentence, while prosecutors had requested as much as 30 years. Burge is serving his sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution Butner Low near Butner, North Carolina, about 45 miles (72 km) northwest of Raleigh, where he is Bureau of Prisons Register #50504-018. Burge's projected release date is February 14, 2015.

There are plans to file federal civil lawsuits against Burge, Daley and others.