Cook County Circuit Judge Clayton Crane will rule on whether a new trial will be granted to a man who claims Chicago police officers tortured and beat him so badly that he would have signed anything, including two murder confessions.
The hearing for 38-year-old Cortez Brown is set for Friday morning. Brown's death sentence was commuted to life in prison by former Illinois Gov. George Ryan.
Brown says officers at Area 2 detective headquarters on the Chicago's South Side, working under former Police Commander Jon Burge, coerced Brown into admitting to the murders by threatening him, punching him and hitting him with a flashlight.
Brown was convicted in 1992 of gunning down two men in separate killings as part of a gang rivalry. He says he's innocent.
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