Guantanamo Is Not the Only Hot Spot for Torture

I want to thank the Chicago Tribune for their July 8 article "2 ex-inmates declared innocent in five murders" by Matthew Walberg (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-innocence-certificateaug20,0,5995256.story).  The story discussed the tragic case of Ronald Kitchen and Marvin Reeves who spent 20 years in prison for five murders they did not commit after Chicago Police literally beat a false confession out of them. Thoughts of Guantanamo Bay trampled through my mind when I first read this.  Their story shows that the CIA is not the only government entity that had been found to use illegal interrogation methods.

Kitchen and Reeves are now attempting to gather evidence of Chicago Police’s harsh methods and bring it to court. Former Gitmo inmate Binyam Mohamed is similarly trying to persuade federal court to preserve photographic evidence of him being beaten and tortured during his time as a detainee. All three of these men are doing what they can to prosecute those who violated the law.

These violent interrogation methods used by our federal, state, and local governments exist because of corruption lurking within America’s political and judicial system. The U.S. Constitution does not allow these actions. If America truly stands for justice, then such crimes against humanity should never happen. Our citizens must put extra pressure on public officials to ensure that these men receive justice.