I still have nightmares

I'm a survivor of torture: Demand justice

Dear Tracy, I spent nearly 30 years in prison for a crime that I didn't commit. In 1973, I was interrogated by white police officers at Chicago's Area 2 Headquarters. One of the men in the room was Police Detective Jon Burge -- a man who would oversee more than two decades of racist policing in Chicago. Looking at him that night, I never could have known that I would be one of the earliest known survivors of Burge's legacy of torture. I never could have imagined what he would do to me. Demand justice for Chicago police torture survivors like me. Call the Mayor's Office to urge the passage of a reparations ordinance today. The detectives made me sit in a chair. They shackled my legs to the chair and my hands behind my back. Then Burge wrapped the wires from an electric shock box -- which he called the ni**er box -- around my shackles and put a plastic bag over my head. Electricity shot through me, over and over. I was choking. I don't remember passing out and falling to the floor, but I gained consciousness as they lifted me back into the chair. I remember looking around the room at the other officers. I thought at least one of them would say "enough," but they never did. I confessed. That confession, torn from me with torture, was the sole piece of incriminating evidence used to convict me of a murder I did not commit. I spent nearly three decades behind bars. For years, nobody believed me. For years, nobody listened. The detectives walked away without punishment. Last October, Burge himself was released from federal prison. And on Saturday, he will walk free from house arrest, able to begin his life all over again. But I can't leave the past behind me. So when Burge walks free on Saturday, I'll be at a People's Hearing in Chicago, demanding reparations that survivors like me need to heal. Mayor Rahm Emanuel has the opportunity to call for the passage of an ordinance that would provide reparations to survivors of police torture in Chicago. Please call the Mayor and ask him to pave the way for reparations before the mayoral election on February 24. Mayor Emanuel: You've affirmed that this issue is important to you and that it's crucial in allowing the city of Chicago to heal. I'm counting on you to do more than just make statements. I'm counting on you to act. I'm waiting. With hope for justice, Anthony Holmes Torture survivor and human rights activist P.S. Please join me at Rally for Reparations: A People's Hearing this Saturday, February 14 at the Chicago Temple. Together, we'll call on Mayor Emanuel, as well as mayoral candidates, to take action toward passing this ordinance.