CHICAGO (AP) – A man who received a certificate of innocence after spending 33 years in prison in the 1987 death of his mother-in-law and her mother has filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Chicago. Robert Smith alleges eight former Chicago police detectives working under former commander Jon Burge beat him into confessing the crime. The 72-year-old Smith, who was released from prison in October, is seeking up to $66 million in punitive and compensatory damages. A Law Department spokesman says the city hadn’t seen the lawsuit late Monday and could not comment. Burge was fired in 1993 after it was determined he tortured a murder suspect. He later served a prison term for lying about torturing suspects.
