Lathierial Boyd
| Lathierial Boyd | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | USA |
| Occupation | Realtor |
| Known for | Wrongly imprisoned for 23 years |
Lathierial Boyd is an American who spent 23 years in prison for murder, whose conviction was eventually overturned.[1][2] Boyd did not match the witness descriptions from the murder. He was fifty pounds heavier and several inches taller than the witness description. He lacked the facial hair witnesses described. Further, he had an alibi, as he was staying at the home of his sister and brother-in-law. His brother-in-law, a deputy sheriff, described seeing him sleeping when he went to the bathroom at 1:30 am, shortly before the murder.
His case received world-wide attention when Richard Zuley, the detective he blamed for his wrongful conviction, was under fire for his use of extended interrogation techniques that have been characterized as torture when he was an interrogator at the Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba.[3][4][5][6]
The only witness to identify Boyd as the shooter was Ricky Warner, the other shooting victim—and he was shot in the back, and fell unconscious before his body hit the ground, as the shots severed his spinal cord.[1][2]
Anita Alvarez of the Conviction Integrity Unit of the Cook County State's Attorney's Office determined Boyd was innocent after a routine review of his case history.[1][2] He received his certificate of innocence on September 25, 2013. Boyd's conviction due to Zuley's questionable means for assembling evidence lead Alvarez to subpoena the entire history of complaints against Zuley.[3]
Boyd is suing Zuley.[7]
References
- 1 2 3 John Albert (Spring 2008). "Murder Conviction Based On ID By Unconscious Man – The Lathierial Boyd Story" (PDF). Justice Denied. p. 8,9. Retrieved 2015-02-23.
- 1 2 3 Rose Bouboushian (2013-10-09). "Decades Lost to Chicago Frame Job, Man Says". Courthouse News. Retrieved 2015-02-23.
- 1 2 Jason Meisner (2015-02-20). "Retired Chicago detective focus of British newspaper investigation". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2015-02-23.
The Chicago cop's little-known role as a Guantanamo interrogator — called into duty as a lieutenant in the Navy Reserve — received wide attention last week in a two-part series in The Guardian. The British newspaper interviewed several former military investigators and culled details from the Senate report as well as Slahi's recently released memoir, "Guantanamo Diary," to paint a portrait of Zuley as a brutal and ineffective interrogator.
- ↑ Spencer Ackerman (2015-02-18). "Guantánamo torturer led brutal Chicago regime of shackling and confession". The Guardian. Retrieved 2015-02-18.
A Chicago detective who led one of the most shocking acts of torture ever conducted at Guantánamo Bay was responsible for implementing a disturbingly similar, years-long regime of brutality to elicit murder confessions from minority Americans.
- ↑ Julian Kimble (February 2015). "Retired Chicago Detective Reportedly Used Same Torture Implemented at Guantanamo Bay". Complex. Retrieved 2015-02-23.
Boyd told the Guardian that Zuley had a racial animus as well. No n***** is supposed to live like this, he remembered Zuley telling him after the detective searched his expensive loft.
- ↑ "Chicago Police Veteran Found Exporting Torture Practices to Gitmo - Reports". Sputnick News. 2015-02-18. Retrieved 2015-02-23.
One victim of Zuley's illicit techniques was exonerated for lack of evidence in 2013 after serving a 23-year prison term. Lathierial Boyd subsequently sued the former detective for malicious prosecution.
- ↑ Michael Homan (2015-03-01). "Guardian reveals Chicago 'black site'". Indiana Daily Student. Archived from the original on 2015-03-02.
The Guardian broke the story of an alleged CIA-like “black site” operating secretly within the Chicago Police Department in Homan Square this past Tuesday.