Appeals court sends back case tied to embattled police detective for an evidentiary hearing
The alleged getaway driver Kevin Murray was convicted at trial and the case faded into the annals of Chicago history, until it reemerged amid allegations of torture against former Chicago police Det. Kriston Kato.
Nearly the state's whole case was based on Murray's alleged confession, court documents say.
The problem? Murray – as early as his first appearance in court in 1988 – claimed that Kato and his partner John Summerville beat the admission out of him.
Now, an Illinois appeals court has sent the case back to a trial judge for an evidentiary hearing, finding that Judge David Carlson improperly dismissed Murray's torture-related petition while calling the entire statute that governs such claims a 'terrible law.'
The appeal once again raises the specter of police torture that hangs over numerous Cook County post-conviction matters and spotlights the Illinois law that allowed defendants who allege police torture to potentially have another crack at litigating their criminal cases.
Kato, who is married to Cook County Judge Mary Margaret Brosnahan, is named in a number of post-conviction cases that accuse him of beating defendants to secure confessions. Summerville, his partner in the Murray case, was convicted in 1993 of sexually abusing female arrestees.
Attempts by the Tribune to reach Kato and Summerville were unsuccessful.
At the heart of Murray's appeal is the Illinois Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission, known as TIRC, which was established by state law in 2009 after the measure was championed by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, then a state senator. The commission was created in the wake of claims of torture perpetrated by notorious ex-CPD Cmdr. Jon Burge, in order to review them and refer those it finds credible to judges for a hearing.
'It's an incredibly important tool that the legislature created to try to root out some of this misconduct that has existed for far too long,' Murray's attorney Karl Leonard said.
The case
Murray's case traces back to the killings of Brian Fowler, 17, and DeJuan Buck, 16, which happened, according to a news report with chilling detail, after the pair were lined up against the back wall of a house in the 3300 block of West Fulton Street and shot in the head.
The murders were allegedly ordered by notorious gang leader Sam McKay, the appeals court decision said, and police eventually honed in on a gang member, Tyrone Washington, as a suspect.
Washington – who also has said he was beaten by Kato and Summerville – implicated Murray as the getaway driver.
Murray, though, has consistently maintained his innocence.
He said the detectives 'slapped him in the head, hit him on his neck, punched and kneed him in the stomach, punched him in the ribs, and kicked him in the leg, groin, and chest' until he confessed, according to torture commission documents.
When coming to its decision, the torture commission laid out several factors that it found weighed both for and against Murray's claim of innocence, according to the appellate court opinion.
For one, the commission said, Murray downplayed his association with the Black Souls gang at trial, but later admitted that it was McKay who sent a lawyer to represent him. And another: An emergency medical technician testified that he did not observe any bruises after Murray's arrest.
But the commission also noted that Murray's attorney did testify to observing bruises and that the technician's exam was 'admittedly limited.' Murray also raised his claims early, during his first court appearance, then remained consistent ever since, even testifying to it at his trial, the commission found.
Washington, who pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison, later signed an affidavit that said he implicated Murray as the getaway driver because Murray 'was messing around with [his] girlfriend,' the appellate opinion said.
As far as he knew, Washington said, Murray was selling drugs at his assigned spot during the murders.
Finally, in a particularly damning detail, the appeals court noted, at least three people involved in Murray's case ultimately landed in trouble with criminal cases themselves. The trial judge was Thomas Maloney, who was arrested for taking bribes to fix cases in the infamous Operation Graylord case. Summerville is now a convicted sex offender. And, more minorly, Murray's first attorney was also convicted of a misdemeanor tax issue.
'The evidence pulls in opposite directions, and nearly everyone's credibility is at issue,' the opinion says. '(Murray's) claim cannot be summarily dismissed without an evidentiary hearing.'
A 'fair day in court'
So weighing all the pieces, the appellate court determined that Murray should get a real evidentiary hearing, despite the 2023 dismissal from the trial judge – a disappointment for Murray that came after a long, winding journey.
In 2017, the commission found Murray's claims credible and referred the case back to the courts. It meant a chance to air his claims in court for a shot at release from prison.
But in a move that was criticized at the time, special prosecutors pushed back against Murray's petition by taking aim at the statute itself, arguing it was unconstitutional.
Carlson, a Will County judge appointed to the case due to Kato's marital connection to the Cook County judiciary, declined to strike down the law but said it 'skirts very closely to the edge of constitutionality.'
In an opinion last week, a three-justice panel disagreed.
'We will not wade through all the details of the circuit court's open-ended and disparaging excursus into the TIRC Act,' the opinion read, noting that Carlson had referred to the matter as 'insane.' 'Instead, we focus on the specific complaints that, to our eye, led the circuit court to dismiss the TIRC claim on the merits, for a lack of evidentiary support, in what was ostensibly a ruling on the legality of the TIRC referral process itself.'
Carlson had decided that his own evaluation of the case served, in effect, as an evidentiary hearing and thus dismissed the matter.
'It was, in a word, bonkers,' Leonard said. 'He gives this lengthy exposition on why the torture commission and torture commission statute are problematic to him … he declines to actually hold it unconstitutional but then in the next breath says we're holding the evidentiary hearing right now inside of my imagination.'
Carlson, who did not respond to a request for comment, has since left the bench and another judge has been assigned to the case.
With the reversal of Carlson's decision, Murray will soon be back in court.
Now 60, he has been incarcerated for around 37 years. Most of his family has since died, his attorney said, and his primary means of support is a cousin.
'Kevin has been saying since day one, since before anybody else was accusing Kato of misconduct, … this happened to me,' Leonard said. 'I think he's relieved that he's finally going to get that fair date in court but incredibly frustrated that he's still in prison decades later.'
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In November of 1987, a leader of Chicago's notorious Black Souls gang purportedly ordered a hit on rival drug dealers, so a group armed with Uzis gunned down two teenagers on Chicago's West Side. The alleged getaway driver Kevin Murray was convicted at trial and the case faded into the annals of Chicago history, until it reemerged amid allegations of torture against former Chicago police Det. Kriston Kato. Nearly the state's whole case was based on Murray's alleged confession, court documents say. The problem? Murray – as early as his first appearance in court in 1988 – claimed that Kato and his partner John Summerville beat the admission out of him. Now, an Illinois appeals court has sent the case back to a trial judge for an evidentiary hearing, finding that Judge David Carlson improperly dismissed Murray's torture-related petition while calling the entire statute that governs such claims a 'terrible law.' 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Jon Burge, in order to review them and refer those it finds credible to judges for a hearing. 'It's an incredibly important tool that the legislature created to try to root out some of this misconduct that has existed for far too long,' Murray's attorney Karl Leonard said. The case Murray's case traces back to the killings of Brian Fowler, 17, and DeJuan Buck, 16, which happened, according to a news report with chilling detail, after the pair were lined up against the back wall of a house in the 3300 block of West Fulton Street and shot in the head. The murders were allegedly ordered by notorious gang leader Sam McKay, the appeals court decision said, and police eventually honed in on a gang member, Tyrone Washington, as a suspect. Washington – who also has said he was beaten by Kato and Summerville – implicated Murray as the getaway driver. Murray, though, has consistently maintained his innocence. He said the detectives 'slapped him in the head, hit him on his neck, punched and kneed him in the stomach, punched him in the ribs, and kicked him in the leg, groin, and chest' until he confessed, according to torture commission documents. When coming to its decision, the torture commission laid out several factors that it found weighed both for and against Murray's claim of innocence, according to the appellate court opinion. For one, the commission said, Murray downplayed his association with the Black Souls gang at trial, but later admitted that it was McKay who sent a lawyer to represent him. And another: An emergency medical technician testified that he did not observe any bruises after Murray's arrest. But the commission also noted that Murray's attorney did testify to observing bruises and that the technician's exam was 'admittedly limited.' Murray also raised his claims early, during his first court appearance, then remained consistent ever since, even testifying to it at his trial, the commission found. Washington, who pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison, later signed an affidavit that said he implicated Murray as the getaway driver because Murray 'was messing around with [his] girlfriend,' the appellate opinion said. As far as he knew, Washington said, Murray was selling drugs at his assigned spot during the murders. Finally, in a particularly damning detail, the appeals court noted, at least three people involved in Murray's case ultimately landed in trouble with criminal cases themselves. The trial judge was Thomas Maloney, who was arrested for taking bribes to fix cases in the infamous Operation Graylord case. Summerville is now a convicted sex offender. And, more minorly, Murray's first attorney was also convicted of a misdemeanor tax issue. 'The evidence pulls in opposite directions, and nearly everyone's credibility is at issue,' the opinion says. '(Murray's) claim cannot be summarily dismissed without an evidentiary hearing.' A 'fair day in court' So weighing all the pieces, the appellate court determined that Murray should get a real evidentiary hearing, despite the 2023 dismissal from the trial judge – a disappointment for Murray that came after a long, winding journey. In 2017, the commission found Murray's claims credible and referred the case back to the courts. It meant a chance to air his claims in court for a shot at release from prison. But in a move that was criticized at the time, special prosecutors pushed back against Murray's petition by taking aim at the statute itself, arguing it was unconstitutional. Carlson, a Will County judge appointed to the case due to Kato's marital connection to the Cook County judiciary, declined to strike down the law but said it 'skirts very closely to the edge of constitutionality.' In an opinion last week, a three-justice panel disagreed. 'We will not wade through all the details of the circuit court's open-ended and disparaging excursus into the TIRC Act,' the opinion read, noting that Carlson had referred to the matter as 'insane.' 'Instead, we focus on the specific complaints that, to our eye, led the circuit court to dismiss the TIRC claim on the merits, for a lack of evidentiary support, in what was ostensibly a ruling on the legality of the TIRC referral process itself.' Carlson had decided that his own evaluation of the case served, in effect, as an evidentiary hearing and thus dismissed the matter. 'It was, in a word, bonkers,' Leonard said. 'He gives this lengthy exposition on why the torture commission and torture commission statute are problematic to him … he declines to actually hold it unconstitutional but then in the next breath says we're holding the evidentiary hearing right now inside of my imagination.' Carlson, who did not respond to a request for comment, has since left the bench and another judge has been assigned to the case. With the reversal of Carlson's decision, Murray will soon be back in court. Now 60, he has been incarcerated for around 37 years. Most of his family has since died, his attorney said, and his primary means of support is a cousin. 'Kevin has been saying since day one, since before anybody else was accusing Kato of misconduct, … this happened to me,' Leonard said. 'I think he's relieved that he's finally going to get that fair date in court but incredibly frustrated that he's still in prison decades later.'
