Stanley Wrice WAS AWARDED $5.2 MILLION AFTER A JURY FOUND MR. WRICE WAS BEATEN INTO CONFESSING TO A BRUTAL RAPE BY AREA TWO DETECTIVES. HE SPENT 31 YEARS IN PRISON FOR A CRIME HE DID NOT COMMIT.

Stanley Wrice was sentenced to 100 years in prison for a rape and sexual assault that occurred at his home. In 1982, at age 28, Wrice was arrested and taken to a remote location at Area Two where he was beaten and tortured into making a false confession after repeatedly denying involvement in the rape of the victim. The two officers who beat Wrice were notorious Area 2 police officers – Sergeant John Byrne and Detective Peter Dignan – acting under the direct supervision of disgraced former Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge (a convicted perjurer: read more). Wrice contends that one detective struck him with a flashlight and another hit him with a rubber, black, flexible hose. These officers beat Wrice in the groin and about the body until he confessed.

Wrice’s conviction was finally overturned by the time he turned 59. A new trial was ordered after the Judge agreed that the torture took place. A witness against Wrice also recanted, testifying that he implicated Wrice after he also was tortured. The State of Illinois dismissed the charges against Wrice and chose not to retry him. After 31 years, three months and two days wrongly incarcerated, Wrice finally walked free.

On October 16, 2014, Judge Byrne of Cook County denied Wrice his certificate of innocence, which would have granted Wrice statutory compensation for his wrongful incarceration. Bonjean was shocked by this decision. She stated to the Chicago Tribune, “Judge Byrne should not only have ruled in his favor, he should have issued an apology on behalf of the system to Mr. Wrice and instead he spit in Mr. Wrice’s face.” Wrice also stated he had expected to be vindicated by the judge. He called the decision “a dagger in my heart.”

Furthermore, by receiving a certificate of innocence, the law would have provided Wrice with job search and placement services, and re-entry services. Unfortunately due to Judge Byrnes failure to grant Wrice a certificate of innocence, Wrice was once again denied what he rightly deserved by the justice system. (See: IL ST CH 37 ¶ 439.8; 20 ILCS 1015/2; 20 ILCS 1710/1710-125)

In 2014, Wrice filed a civil lawsuit against Defendants Jon Byrne and Peter Dignan, alleging that they violated Wrice’s constitutional rights when they used physical coercion to force Wrice to make statements against his interest. These statements were used to implicate Wrice in the horrific crime and resulted in his wrongful conviction. On March 3, 2020, after an 8-day jury trial, Wrice was finally vindicated when a federal jury found in Wrice’s favor and awarded him $4 million in compensatory damages and $1.2 million in punitive damages against the Defendant Officers.