What drew you personally to this story, and why did you feel now was the right time to tell it?
I just want to start by saying I don’t think CNN has ever done a podcast like this before.
I’ve known about this story for a long time, going back to when I was a student investigating potential wrongful convictions at the Chicago Innocence Project. I just remember thinking to myself why don’t more people know about this? And then this year I saw the City of Chicago was still settling cases for millions of dollars tied to torture that happened more than 30 years ago. There are still people untangling themselves from what became one of the darkest chapters in American policing history.
I got in touch with one man who was on the verge of settling his case this year. He was trying to move forward from what became nearly 30 years of wrongful imprisonment. After one conversation with him, I found myself once again asking the question I asked myself as a student, why don’t more people know about this? So, one conversation turned into months of reporting and research (alongside an incredible CNN Podcasts team) to bring you this story and I hope you enjoy it.
What do you hope listeners will take away from this series, especially those who may not have heard of Jon Burge or the Midnight Crew before?
There are a few things. I hope listeners grasp the magnitude of what we’re talking about here. It’s not just a few beatings here and there, we’re talking about torture. It’s not just one or two instances; we’re talking about over 100 documented cases tied to former Chicago police commander Jon Burge and his Midnight Crew.
I want listeners to understand that it’s not always just about “a few bad apple” police officers in a system like this. There are moments in this story where others in this system could have stepped in and done something, but why didn’t they? How did it get so bad?
Lastly, I want listeners to ask themselves what is justice in a story like this? If someone was beaten or tortured into a false confession or in the process of getting a conviction, is that true justice just because a judge ruled it was? Even if someone’s released and exonerated decades later, the truth might be out, but was that justice? What about if the city gives you millions of dollars to try and recoup for lost time, is that truly justice?
When you sat down with James Gibson, what moment or detail from his story has stayed with you the most?
We were with him the day he got his nearly $15 million settlement from the City of Chicago. He was neither celebrating nor overjoyed. I asked him how he was feeling, and he told me this wasn’t “congratulations.” When he went into prison in 1990, his mom was his rock, she didn’t live to see the day he was released. Family that visited him in prison as children are now grown up with their own lives and responsibilities. Life passed him by while he stood in the same place, fighting for a chance to move forward. He told me even if the city settlement was for $50 million it will never replace the time he lost.
That said, he’s always been his own fiercest advocate, and his fighting spirit comes through so strongly even in podcast form. I’m excited for you to meet him. You’ll see what I’m talking about.
You’ve worked across different formats as a journalist, what made the podcast space the right medium for this story?
This is a story you need space to tell. I could never do this in just a few minutes on a nightly show or try to encapsulate it all in a single web write. This needs space to breathe. There’s so much nuance mixed in with the history, true crime, and emotion here. I’m really proud of the CNN Podcasts team that helped put this together, seriously they went through so much archived audio and video, hours of interviews, and helped craft an incredible three-episode series.
And then not to get too metaphorical here, but I love the podcast medium for this because I want this story to follow you, as it has for me for more than a decade now. That’s your commute to work, weekend coffee break, walk in the park, and more. This was a story that stuck with me the first time I heard it, and we’ve only added more reporting and perspective on top of it. This took months of work and I’m so excited for you to dive in. Reach out with any reactions! Would love to hear what you think. Happy listening.
