PONTIAC, Illinois (AP) A judge overturned the conviction of a man who for decades insisted that police tortured him until he confessed to a rape he did not commit, freeing him Wednesday after 30 years behind bars.
Judge Richard Walsh overturned his conviction Tuesday, saying officers lied about how they had treated Stanley Wrice, 59.
"It's just an overwhelming feeling of joy, happiness that finally it's over with," Wrice said, moments after he walked into the arms of his two daughters, attorneys and others who greeted him as he left prison.
Wrice, whose belongings after so long in prison amounted to a small box filled with photographs, legal papers and letters, said his immediate plans were to eat a cheeseburger and get some sleep; he said he had none Tuesday night.
The ruling was just the latest development in one of the darkest chapters of Chicago Police Department history, in which officers working under former Lt. Jon Burge were accused of torturing suspects into false confessions and torturing witnesses into falsely implicating people in crimes.