On Tuesday, November 19, 2013, Carl Chatman received a Certificate of Innocence from the Circuit Court of Cook County.
Mr. Chatman spent 11 years wrongfully imprisoned for raping a woman inside The Daley Center. There was no physical evidence tying him to the crime.
The only evidence against Mr. Chatman was the testimony of his accuser, who filed a civil lawsuit seeking monetary damages after his conviction. Â She had once before filed and won a lawsuit against a different building management company after alleging she had been raped on the premises by a Polish immigrant.
For more on Mr. Chatman’s release, see this article in the Sun Times.
A Certificate of Innocence is crucial and must be obtained before an exoneree can expunge his record or receive compensation for his wrongful conviction from the State of Illinois.
