Crime & Law
City Council to Weigh Paying $8M to Man Who Spent 16 Years in Prison After Wrongful Murder Conviction
(WTTW News)
Chicago taxpayers should pay $8 million to a man who spent 16 years in prison after he was wrongfully convicted of a 2002 murder, city lawyers recommended.
Eric Blackmon, was convicted and sentenced to 60 years in prison in connection with the murder of Tony Cox, who was killed on the West Side in what police believed was a gang-related shooting.
The City Council’s Finance Committee will consider resolving the lawsuit Blackmon filed in 2019 on Thursday. A final vote of the City Council could come on Oct. 16.
Blackmon, then 21, was arrested after two witnesses to the shooting identified his picture, which was included in a photo lineup, even though he had no connection to the gang police believed was involved in the shooting.
No physical evidence tied Blackmon to the crime, nor did police establish that he knew Cox, or had a reason to kill him.
At the time of the shooting, Blackmon was hosting a Fourth of July party at a house about a mile away. His attorney failed to arrange for any of them to testify at trial, and prosecutors were able to discredit two alibi witnesses who testified after being contacted by Blackmon’s mother, records show.
After his conviction by a judge, Blackmon earned a paralegal certificate and appealed his case. Eventually, one of the witnesses who testified against Blackmon at his trial recanted, saying police pressured her to identify Blackmon as the killer.
After a judge overturned his conviction in 2018, Blackmon was released. In 2019, prosecutors announced he would not be retried, and in 2020 he was granted a certificate of innocence.
Between Jan. 1 and July 31, taxpayers spent $145.7 million to resolve lawsuits filed by Chicagoans convicted and imprisoned for crimes they did not commit, records show.
If the City Council resolves the case filed by Blackmon for $8 million and pays an additional $18.5 million to settle the lawsuit filed by Francisco Benitez, that toll will grow to $172.2 million.
In 2026, taxpayers will pay an additional $90 million to 180 people who spent a combined nearly 200 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted based on what they allege was fabricated evidence gathered by former Chicago Police Sgt. Ronald Watts, who was convicted in 2013 of taking bribes, and other officers.
WTTW News coverage of policing and police reform is supported by The Joyce Foundation.
Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]
