Former Chicago Inmate Sues Northwestern University for $40 Million

Alstory Simon walked out of an Illinois prison as a free man on Oct. 30, 2014, after his murder-and-manslaughter convictions were tossed out. But the former inmate, who was incarcerated for almost 15 years, is suing Northwestern University, a former journalism professor, a private investigator and his own defense attorney for forcing his false confession,…

Alstory Simon walked out of an Illinois prison as a free man on Oct. 30, 2014, after his murder-and-manslaughter convictions were tossed out. But the former inmate, who was incarcerated for almost 15 years, is suing Northwestern University, a former journalism professor, a private investigator and his own defense attorney for forcing his false confession, the Chicago Tribune reports.

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Simon is seeking $40 million for intentional infliction of emotional distress, malicious prosecution and โ€œconspiracy,โ€ the Tribune notes.ย The lawsuit, which Simon filed with the U.S. District Court in Chicago, claims that the defendants โ€œconspired to frame Simon for the murders in order to secure the release of the real killer, Anthony Porter.โ€ย 

Now-retired Northwestern University journalism professor David Protess and his students had investigated Porterโ€™s death-penalty conviction for a 1982 double murder and decided to work to get the conviction overturned. As part of their efforts, private investigator Paul Ciolino got a videotaped confession from Simon for the crimes by using an actor to โ€œfalsely implicateโ€ him, according to the Tribune. Simonโ€™s confession, in turn, led to Porterโ€™s release from prison in 1999.

Simonโ€™s own release came after Cook County Stateโ€™s Attorney Anita Alvarez looked into Protessโ€™ actions and had concerns about his integrity, the Tribune notes. She also had concerns about Ciolino and the independence of Jack Rimland, Simonโ€™s defense attorney, who was an associate of Ciolino.

The lawsuit says that โ€œNorthwestern knowingly approved, encouraged and ratified Protessโ€™ and Ciolinoโ€™s deceitful and unethical conductโ€ out of a desire for โ€œprestige and financial gain,โ€ according to the Tribune. In addition,ย โ€œNorthwesternโ€™s conduct permitted a culture of lawlessness to thrive in Protessโ€™ investigative journalism classes and investigations, which not only placed Northwesternโ€™s students at an alarming risk to their own safety, but resulted in the crimes perpetrated against Simon,โ€ the lawsuit reads. It also points out that Simon will โ€œnever regain the decade and a half lost of his life.โ€

Read more at the Chicago Tribune.

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