Brown Et Al V. City Of Chicago Et Al

Case Background

On June 18, 2019, Plaintiff Marcel Brown filed a Wrongful Conviction lawsuit in the Illinois State, Northern District Court of Chicago Division (Case number: 1:19cv4082). Judge Lindsay C. Jenkins and Heather K. McShain presided over the case.

Cause

In August 2008, 18-year-old Marcel Brown was wrongfully arrested for the shooting death of Paris Jackson. The incident occurred at Chicago’s Amundsen Park. Officers, including Michael Mancuso, Kevin McDonald, and others, interrogated Brown for over 34 hours. They deprived him of food, sleep, and contact with his family or attorney, Stephen Wham Cary. Authorities used coercive tactics to extract a false confession from Brown. He had limited intellectual abilities and little legal experience. The officers, along with Assistant State’s Attorney Michelle Spizzirri, fabricated evidence and suppressed exculpatory information. They coerced false witness statements to build their case against Brown. Witnesses who could have proven Brown's innocence were ignored. Police reports were falsified to conceal misconduct. The court convicted Brown of first-degree murder and sentenced him to 35 years in prison. Nearly a decade later, the court vacated his conviction in June 2018 after finding that his confession had been unlawfully obtained. The Cook County State's Attorney's Office dismissed all charges in July 2018. A year later, Brown received a Certificate of Innocence, which formally acknowledged his wrongful conviction.

Injuries

Marcel Brown suffered severe and lasting trauma due to his wrong