>> FOR NEARLY TWO DECADES, CHICAGO POLICE DETECTIVE WAS AN INFAMOUS PRESENCE ON THE CITY'S NORTHWEST SIDE.

MORE THAN 50 PEOPLE HAVE ACCUSED HIM OF FRAMING THEM FOR MURDERS AND FALSE CONVICTIONS AND OTHER MISCONDUCT FROM THE 1980S UNTIL THE EARLY TWO THOUSANDS.

SO FAR, 39 OF THOSE HAVE HAD CONVICTIONS DONA.

LAST MONTH, 11 WRONGFULLY CONVICTED MEN FILED A NEW LAWSUIT AGAINST HIM.

THE CITY OF CHICAGO AND OTHER OFFICERS AS WELL.

HE IS IN HIS 70s, RETIRED AND LIVING OUT OF STATE.

JOINING US ARE THE THREE MEN WHO WERE WRONGFULLY CONVICTED BECAUSE OF HIM IN THE EARLY 1990S.

JACK RIVERA, WHO WAS EXONERATED IN 2011.

DEMETRIUS JOHNSON, AND WAS EXONERATED IN 2019 AND JOIN FLORISTS, EXONERATED IN 2022.

JOINING US IS A PARTNER AT THE CHICAGO BASED CIVIL RIGHTS LAW FIRM .

WELCOME ALL OF YOU GENTLEMEN.

THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.

I WANT TO START WITH YOU, JOHNNY.

YOU ARE ONE OF THE 11 MEN THAT FILED A LAWSUIT AGAINST THE CITY.

WHAT IS YOUR HOPE FOR THE LAWSUIT?

>> THAT IT NEVER HAPPENS AGAIN.

THAT IT IS CORRECTED AND IS MORE TRANSPARENT AND NO OTHER CITIZEN HAS TO GO THROUGH THIS.

>> DEMETRIUS, I'M ASSUMING YOUR HOPE IS ABOUT THE SAME.

YOU SPENT 20 YEARS IN PRISON FOR A CRIME HE DIDN'T COMMIT.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE TO LEARN YOUR STORY?

>> I WAS GRABBED AS A JUVENILE BASICALLY.

IT IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE I REMEMBER THE WAY HE WAS ALLOWED TO USE HIS POWER.

I DISMEMBER THOSE DAYS CRYING AND IS STILL WONDERING WHY AND KNOWING I WAS INNOCENT.

I KNEW THERE COULD BE SOMEONE ELSE GOING TO THAT SAME THING RIGHT NOW.

AND HE IS NOT THE FIRST PERSON WHO HAS DONE SOMETHING LIKE THIS.

WE NEED TO BRING LIGHT TO THE SITUATION.

>> HOW OLD WERE YOU AGAIN?

>> 14 YEARS OLD.

>> JACK RIVERA, YOU ACTUALLY WON YOUR LAWSUIT AGAINST KABBALAH AND OTHER OFFICERS.

AND PRESSURING WITNESSES INTO FALSE IDENTIFICATION IN 2015.

HOW DID THAT HELP YOU MOVE FORWARD?

>> IT HELPED ME ESTABLISH MYSELF.

ON LIVING.

I HAD THREE KIDS AT THE TIME DURING MY INCORPORATION WHO OUR, SEVEN AND ALSO SIX MONTHS OLD.

NOW THAT THEY ARE GROWN, I COULD PROVIDE FOR THEM, GIVE THEM WHAT THEY MISSED OUT ON.

I CANNOT GIVE THEM BACK ME PER SE, ALL THOSE YEARS THEY MISSED OUT ON.

BUT I CAN HELP THEM FINANCIALLY.

>> WHAT WAS THE TOUGHEST PART FOR YOU AFTER COMING OUT OF JAIL ?

>> THE NEW TECHNOLOGY.

HOW EVERYTHING CHANGED.

IT WAS AMAZING.

AND IT WAS JUST AMAZING, HOW THINGS HAVE CHANGED.

YOU ARE STUCK IN A TIME ZONE WHEN YOU GO INTO THE PRISON SYSTEM.

YOU COME OUT AND EXPECT THINGS TO BE THE SAME AS WHEN YOU WENT IN.

IT WAS GOOD TO SEE MY KIDS THOUGH.

>> GETTING USED TO EVERYTHING.

>> WHAT IS NEXT?

WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS IN THIS LAWSUIT?

>> FOR EACH OF THESE MEN, THEY ARE ONLY HERE TODAY BECAUSE WE WERE ABLE TO PROVE THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM MADE A MISTAKE AND THEY NEED TO BE EXONERATED SO THERE CONVICTIONS WERE THROWN OUT.

THE NEXT STEP FOR THESE GUYS IS, THEY HAVE TO GO GET A CERTIFICATE OF INNOCENCE TO SHOW THAT IT WASN'T JUST SOME MISTAKE.

IT WASN'T AN ACCIDENT.

IT WAS BECAUSE THESE MEN WERE TRULY INNOCENT.

THEY DID NOT COME HOME BASED ON A TECHNICALITY.

MR. RIVERA MR. JOHNSON BOTH HAVE CERTIFICATES OF INNOCENCE AND MR. FLOREZ WILL HAVE HIS SOON.

>> LET'S SAY HE DOESN'T GET IT OR, WHAT ARE THE RAMIFICATIONS OF HIM NOT GETTING IT?

>> THE CERTIFICATE OF INNOCENCE IS A PIECE OF PAPER TO YOU TONIGHT.

IT DOESN'T REALLY CHANGE ANYTHING ABOUT THEIR LEGAL CLAIMS OR THE FACT THAT THIS SHOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED, BUT IT IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT IS AN OPPORTUNITY.

THE STATE ADMITS.

THE CLOSEST THE STATE WILL EVER COME TO ADMITTING THAT THEY DID SOMETHING WRONG AND SAYING I'M SORRY.

THE CIVIL RIGHTS LAWSUIT THESE MEN FILED IS THEIR OPPORTUNITY TO SAY, WAIT A MINUTE.

CLIMB THE DEFENDANT.

I'M THE PERSON WHO GETS TO PROVE WHAT THESE OFFICERS DID AND WHAT THEY DID TO FRAME ME FOR THE CRIME.

>> JOHNNY, WHAT WAS THE IMPACT OF YOUR INCARCERATION FOR YOUR FAMILY?

>> DEVASTATING HARDSHIP.

THEY SENT ME TO DIFFERENT PRISONS THROUGHOUT THE STATE, FURTHER AWAY.

THE COST OF PHONE CALLS AND AN OUTRAGEOUS PHONE SYSTEM THAT I CHALLENGED HER CONSOLIDATED COMMUNICATION.

IT WAS DISCRIMINATORY.

THEY WERE GIVING OUTRAGEOUS CHARGES AND I WAS ABLE TO EXPOSE THEM.

>> THE TRAVEL EXPENSES AND THE PHONE EXPENSES.

IT WAS A HARDSHIP FOR THE FAMILY.

VERY HARD.

>> WHAT WAS THE HARDEST PART FOR YOU COMING OUT OF JAIL?

>> KNOWING THAT SOME OF MY LOVED ONES HAD PASSED WHILE I WAS IN THERE.

AND I WILL NEVER SEE THEIR EYES AGAIN OR THEIR SMILE.

IT IS DEVASTATING.

>> I CAN ONLY IMAGINE.

DEMETRIUS, HOW WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE?

OR HOW HAS YOUR EXPERIENCE SHAPED YOUR VIEW OF THE JUSTICE SYSTEM?

>> SINCE I WAS A JUVENILE AND HAD TO BECOME A MAN, IT MAKES ME VIEW THINGS LIKE -- THERE IS A CATCH TO IT.

IT WAS SYSTEMATIC.

AFTER EXPERIENCED IT, I SAW THAT IT DIDN'T HAPPEN JUST BECAUSE OF ONE PERSON.

THERE WAS MORE THAN ONE PERSON TO MAKE THE SYSTEM WORK AGAINST ME AND OTHER PEOPLE LIKE ME.

SO MY VIEW OF IT IS, I APPRECIATE THE PEOPLE IN THE WORK THEY ARE DOING TO BRING JUSTICE TO A SITUATION AND PEOPLE LIKE YOU DOING WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND BRINGING LIGHT TO THE SITUATION.

AND THESE GENTLEMEN APPEAR WITH ME WHO WERE ABLE TO EXPOSE THE SITUATION AND SPEAK ON THIS.

IT IS NOT THE FIRST AND IT HAPPENED BEFORE.

THERE IS A STRONG REASON WE SPEAK ON IT.

AT LIKE THIS MAN WAS SAYING, WE LOSE A LOT.

VERY TRAUMATIZING.

DOING THE TIME AND COMING OUT IS LIKE A WHOLE OTHER SENTENCE.

BECAUSE IT'S LIKE A BOX.

CASTRATED WINGS.

EVEN WHEN YOUR OUT OF PRISON.

>> JACK, WHAT ARE YOU DOING NOW TO HELP OTHER WRONGFULLY CONVICTED PEOPLE?

>> SEVERAL THINGS.

I ACCEPT PHONE CALLS FROM THE GENTLEMAN IN THE PRISON SYSTEM TO HELP THEM OUT.

I GO TO CLEMENCY HEARINGS.

WHEN ANY OF THE LAW FIRMS GO TO REPRESENT IN THE COURT SYSTEM, WE GO TO SUPPORT THEM.

A COMMITTEE FORMED TO FIGHT THE CASES.

SINCE THEN, WE HAVE BEEN HELPING ANYBODY.

>> THE CASE, OR CASES RATHER HAVE CONTINUE TO COST THE CITY MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN LAWSUITS AS YOU KNOW.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT FOR THE CITY TO WORK IN THESE ACTIONS?

>> .

THERE CAN BE NO ACCOUNTABILITY OR CHANGE IN LESTER'S ACCEPTANCE FIRST AND THERE HAS TO BE ACCEPTANCE THAT SOMETHING WAS WRONG.

EVERYBODY IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM IN THE APPELLATE COURTS AND STATES ATTORNEYS OFFICE, ALL ACKNOWLEDGE.

THAT THE DETECTIVE IS A BAD MAN AND HE WRONGFULLY CONVICTED A LOT OF PEOPLE.

THE ONLY PERSON THAT STILL FIGHTS EVERY ONE OF THESE MEN IS THE CITY OF CHICAGO.

THE CITY OF CHICAGO WILL NOT ADMIT THAT THIS MISCONDUCT OCCURRED.

AND HOW WILL THEY ENSURE THAT IT DOESN'T HAPPEN AGAIN.

>> JOHNNY.

>> WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO THE DETECTIVE IF YOU COULD LOOK HIM IN THE FACE?

>> I DON'T KNOW WHY YOU CHOSE ME.

I REALLY DON'T KNOW WHY YOU CHOSE ME.

I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW.

IT IS A MURDER I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT.

SOMEBODY OR SOMETHING HAD TO INSPIRE HIM.

I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW.

>> SAME QUESTION.

>> IT IS A POWERFUL QUESTION.

TO ME, HE IS LIKE THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE.

IS A DIFFICULT QUESTION.

I DON'T KNOW WHAT I WOULD DO.

>> JACK, SAME QUESTION.

>> I WOULD TELL HIM THAT I FORGIVE HIM.

PART OF MY FAITH IS TO FORGIVE OTHERS WHO WRONGED ME.

I ALSO WOULD LIKE