ABSTRACT
Ronald Kitchen was a 24-year-old black man living in Chicago. On January 25, 1988, he was arrested while walking home from the grocery store after purchasing cookie dough for his children. Initially, detectives charged Kitchen with theft, but they quickly changed the charge to murder. After hours of interrogation, which included being beaten with a blackjack, Kitchen confessed under extreme physical duress to the murder of two women and three children-murders that he did not commit. Kitchen believed that because there could be no physical evidence linking him to the crime, his confession could later be recanted without consequence. In fact, when asked why he falsely confessed, Kitchen stated “I gave in, hoping that the judge and jury would see that I was telling the truth” (Hartman, 2009). Unfortunately, Kitchen underestimated the power of confession evidence and was ultimately convicted and sentenced to death. In July 2010, after serving 21 years behind bars-13 of which were on death row-prosecutors dismissed charges against Kitchen after he was granted a new trial. Formal charges of torture dating back to the 1980s were filed against the Chicago police.
