GERALD REED WELCOME HOME FUND

GERALD REED IS FINALLY COMING HOME, after being kidnapped and tortured, after over 30 years stolen from his loved ones and community. It’s time for us to show our support for him as he transitions back into life outside prison walls. He and his family have been fighting and struggling for the justice all survivors of police torture and wrongful conviction deserve throughout these three decades. Now is a chance to show our love, appreciation, and support for them as the struggle continues on. People released from prison are usually provided with nothing but maybe a check from the commissary they can’t cash without an ID. All donations will go directly to Gerald Reed. And every dollar counts.


Gerald Reed is a Jon Burge torture survivor, who has spent 30 years in prison for crimes he did not commit. In 1990, he was tortured by Chicago police until a metal rod in his leg snapped and his leg broke, forcing him to sign a false confession.


In December 2018 Judge Gainer overturned Reed’s conviction, tossing the tortured false confession, and ordered him a new trial. Judge Gainer retired after, and Judge Hennelly was assigned the case. On February 14th, 2020, Judge Hennelly illegally reversed fellow circuit court judge Gainer's 2018 ruling. After over a year of continuances, Hennelly reinstated the overturned conviction, dismissed Reed’s right to a new trial, and in a racist Jon Burge-style rant, ordered Reed back to prison to serve out his original sentence. 


The Campaign to Free Incarcerated Survivors of Police Torture (CFIST), a campaign of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, has been organizing for Governor Pritzker to pardon Gerald Reed and all survivors of police torture, as a continuation of, and in coalition with the ongoing, growing movement in Chicago to end police torture and get justice for the victims of CPD. 


On April 1st, Governor Pritzker commuted Gerald Reed’s sentence, and Gerald is now home!! This is not the end of the fight in many ways. Not only are there countless more victims of torture and wrongful conviction to fight to release, but Gerald deserves his Certificate of Innocence, and needs support as he transitions back into his community. He needs support to build a life after spending 30 years in prison.


Please donate and share this welcome home fund, and learn more about the CFIST campaign and the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression .