Newsletter SEPTEMBER 2023
The Murder Registry Impact Report The Chicago Torture Justice Center was created out of a decades-long campaign for justice and reparations for survivors of police torture. Most survivors of police torture and violence in Chicago have been or are currently on the Illinois Murder Registry. We believe the repealing of the Illinois Murder Registry is not only an issue of racial and economic justice but a true investment in public safety, and plan to launch a campaign in 2024 to repeal this legislation. The following is a snapshot of our 18-page report being published in September 2023. What is the IL Murder Registry? The first registry for violent crimes in Illinois was the sex offense registry, created in 1986.[1] In the 1990s, non-sexual crimes against young people were added to the sex offense registry, and in January 2012, the Illinois Murder Registry was created, which separated the two registries and created mandatory registration for violent crimes against adults.[2] The IL Murder Registry is formally known as the Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Registry (MVOAY). This name is misleading because only half of those listed on the Illinois Murder Registry have victims under the age of 18, and because most of the crimes that require people to register are not homicides. Crimes beyond murder that require someone to register on the IL Murder Registry include involuntary manslaughter, aggravated battery, kidnapping, and home invasion. Illinois is one of five states to implement a registry for violent crimes. The others include Indiana, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Montana.[3] People on the Illinois Murder Registry must register annually for 10 years. It is $20 the first time you register and $10 each time after. 100% of these funds go to the state police, and none of them go to true public safety measures or violence prevention. People receive no notification to register each year, and if one fails to register on or before their last annual registration date, the ten-year registration period starts over. The police give people “fail to register” charges with impunity to force people to register for longer. If the victim was 18 or under, you must register for the remainder of your life, and those who are houseless must register weekly. The records of every individual on the Illinois Murder Registry, including their address, date of birth, and photo, are listed publicly online for all to access. Individuals in our community have been killed because their addresses are publicly listed. People on the registry must notify the police if they leave town for even a few days, and the police can show up at their address at any time without a warrant.[3] This impacts everyone who lives in the household, including children. Currently, there are over 8,200 people on the Illinois Murder Registry, who are significantly impacted by it when they reenter society after prison. An Issue of Racial and Economic Justice Nationally, Black people are disproportionately represented on public conviction registries.[4] 60% of people on the Illinois Murder Registry are Black and 1 out of every 84 Black men in Illinois is on the sex offense registry.[5] These rates are profoundly disproportionate, especially when you consider that only 12.4% of the Illinois population is Black.[6] We mapped the IL Murder Registry and found that the South and West sides of Chicago, as well as East Saint Louis were disproportionately impacted, which are all predominately Black communities. Many scholars and activists argue that the endless criminalization, punishment, and surveillance of Black people today function as an extension of slavery and other systems of racial subjugation. The endless punishment and surveillance that is now a routine part of the criminal legal system disproportionately impacts Black people and their communities. The 2021 Census Data of poverty rates in Chicago mapped here shows the same communities that are being targeted by Stop and Frisks and the Murder Registry experience the highest rates of poverty. People on the IL Murder Registry have to pay and take hours out of their days to register, therefore this registry is making poor people poorer. Economic inequality is directly linked to higher rates of intracommunal violence.[7] At the same time, over policing, mass incarceration, and endless surveillance are all happening in communities that have historically been disinvested in. This means the Illinois Murder Registry is not only an issue of racial justice, but of economic justice. An Issue of Public Safety Public conviction registries are generally supported by community members who are not impacted by them, but they do nothing to prevent violence or crime.[1] People want to feel safe in their communities, but over twenty five years of research shows that public conviction registries and community notification laws do not make anyone safer.[4] 6337 S. WOODLAWN AVENUE CHICAGO IL 60637 CHICAGOTORTUREJUSTICE.ORG
SEPTEMBER 2023 NEWSLETTER
An Issue of Public Safety Public conviction registries are generally supported by community members who are not impacted by them, but they do nothing to prevent violence or crime.[1] People want to feel safe in their communities, but over twenty five years of research shows that public conviction registries and community notification laws do not make anyone safer.[4] Dr. Amanda Agan, who studies the economics of crime, argues that public conviction registries gave legislators an inexpensive response to complex social problems.[8] In Illinois, the history of this registry and its growth provide evidence for this. Illinois now has one of the most robust registry systems in the country, including a sex offense registry, a murder registry, a methamphetamine registry, an arson offense registry, and a gun offense registry.[2] The expansion of registries in Illinois has not decreased violence or crime rates for any of these categories of crime.[2] Violent crime and murder registries are so new that there is very little data on them. We FOIA’d the IL State Police three times to request recidivism data and understand rates of violence and petty crime for people on the IL murder registry. We received no response. However, we know the rates of recidivism for violent crime for people on registries are very low. Some scholars and researchers believe that public conviction registries can actually make our communities less safe because people on registries often experience diminished social standing, have trouble securing employment and housing, and some even experience harassment and assault due to biases about people on registries.[2] When people are stigmatized, forced to register, and targeted by the police, it is even more challenging for them to access basic resources, and the likelihood of crime actually increases. There is no evidence to prove that public conviction registries create safer communities, only research that shows they likely contribute to harm.[1] While public conviction registries may make community members not impacted by them feel safer, they divert funds and energy away from actually addressing violence at a community level, where the majority of it happens. Almost all people who are incarcerated and on the Illinois Murder Registry are survivors of some form of violence.[9] The majority of violence happens intracommunally, and economic and racial inequality are directly linked to increased levels of intracommunal violence.[7] Therefore, an investment in public safety actually looks like an investment in resources for our communities. We know that stable housing and income, secure food and medical care, and quality education are what actually make our communities safer, not punishment or surveillance. Endnotes 1. Walker Wilson, “The Expansion of Criminal Registries,”; 509558 2. Felton, “Public Crime Registries Rarely Work” 3. Bill Bird, Hannah Leone, and Gloria Casas, “Little-Known Murder Registry Raises Questions of Public Safety, Privacy.” Chicago Tribune, July 1, 2016, 4. Levine and Meiners, The Feminist and the Sex Offender, (London: Verso Books, 2020) 5. “Chicago 400 Campaign.” Chicago 400: Home, n.d. https://www.chicago400.net/
Conclusion The Illinois Murder Registry is not contributing to public safety. It is targeting Black people, poor people, and their families and communities. In Chicago, the same communities disproportionately targeted by racist policing practices and policies like Stop and Frisk are disproportionately represented on the IL Murder Registry. The registry serves as a form of perpetual punishment and endless surveillance for those on it. The registry not only stigmatizes people, which sometimes leads to harassment, neglect, and assault, but it makes the reentry process incredibly challenging by increasing barriers to and exclusion from public housing, jobs, and public assistance. [1] Being mandated to register can lead to re-incarceration through charges related to administrative errors and failures to register. Recidivism rates for violent crimes are not impacted by registration, and some researchers have found that the stigma and discrimination associated with the registry increase crime rates.[1] Almost all police torture survivors in Chicago are forced to be on the IL Murder Registry and many have been retraumatized by registering where they were tortured. Repealing the IL Murder Registry, and all public conviction registries, is an issue of public safety, racial justice, and economic justice. Please Note: The Full Report is filled with testimony from directly impacted people and has been edited by several community members currently on the IL Murder Registry. Recommendations The current funding going to the police in order to run the IL Murder Registry should instead be invested in creating public safety within our communities. This means investing in lifegiving institutions and resources in housing, education, health care, and employment. We believe that all public conviction registries should be repealed in the state of Illinois. In the interim, we recommend that newer public conviction registries, including the IL Murder Registry, continue to be researched so this work is possible. There should also be continued pressure on police departments to release data and practice transparency. Those concerned with racial justice, economic justice, and public safety should join in our efforts to repeal the Illinois Murder Registry. Action Items If you want more information, or for your loved ones to get involved in this campaign, you can write CTJC organizer Rebecca Wilson Bretz at 6337 S. Woodlawn. You may also request a full copy of the report by writing us at that same address. 6. America Counts Staff. “Illinois Population down 0.1% in 2020.” Census.gov, October 8, 2021, 7. Robert Muggah and Samah Wahba. "How Reducing Inequality Will Make Our Cities Safer." World Economic Forum. March 2, 2020. 8. Amanda Y Agan, “Sex Offender Registries: Fear Without Function?” The Journal of law & economics 54, no. 1 (2011): 207–239 9. Danielle Sered, Until We Reckon : Violence, Mass Incarceration, and a Road to Repair. New York, NY: The New Press, 2019.
6337 S. WOODLAWN AVENUE CHICAGO IL 60637 CHICAGOTORTUREJUSTICE.ORG
SEPTEMBER 2023 NEWSLETTER
Voices from Inside What do you enjoy about performing and why? Jose Saucedo (STREETBABY GREEDY) Ask me what I enjoy about performing, and I’ll probably look at you sideways. I’ll say, “I think the word you mean to say is LOVE!” I love everything about performing! It is my opinion that performing is something you have to love to do in order to enjoy it. I love how the people are there to see you, but the performance is for them! Anybody who gets on a stage is absolutely brave. It’s a scary thing to do, honestly. That’s why I want to also share my thoughts with artists whose art has to do with being up there on that stage. It’s natural to be nervous or afraid, trust me. In fact, I messed up a few times, hell, a lot, just being real. What I believe helped me with that feeling of being afraid or nervous, and I think can encourage you as well is to PRACTICE! Look in that mirror, cause what you see is what the people see. No matter how tired you get with your rehearsal, and I know it gets tiresome, but the only thing you should keep in mind is that your performance is old to you, not your audience. It’s always about the people. If you make a mistake while performing, no matter what, keep going! The show must go on, don’t stop. While practicing, try to find yourself, meaning your swagger. Be clear when you speak, and most importantly, your confidence. The crowd will only go off of your energy, so bring it every time. Be sure to engage with your audience. Make them hear, see and feel you. If you ever get to the point where you wanna quit, don’t! Just take a break. All of us entertainers get overwhelmed at times. There’s nothing wrong with taking some time to just chill, but don’t get too lax. It’s always good to ask for feedback from the people. Listen to constructive criticism, and apply it if you can. Anything to better you is always a plus. In closing, what I love about performing is how I get all the attention in the room. I love seeing the crowd go from quiet to bobbing their heads to my music, even repeating the lyrics I created. I love when they callout STREETBABY GREED (SBG). Most importantly, I love that I leave them satisfied. That’s what I love about performing.
What does liberation mean to you? What does it look like? Malik Abdul Muhammad Liberation represents a constant struggle towards freedom. There are many different forms of liberation, mainly because there are wars being waged and fought on so many different battlefields, such as intracommunal violence, state terror violence, prison struggles and human rights liberation wars. What does it look like? Once you are held captive behind enemy’s lines for so long, you begin to care about what your enemies think, and by caring about what they think, you will choose not to hate them, therefore, you become the reincarnation of a bastard child, where pain dwells in between the realms of past shadows of sympathy and regret. You pray to be liberated from the strange feeling of the bad bag lunch from yesterday and today, that has the strange smelling odor of spoiled meat, rotting away inside of our flesh. What does it look like? It looks like extreme heat without access to enough clean water and cooled air that becomes deadlier by the minute for an aging prison population. It looks like protests of hunger strikes for air conditioned cells, especially for prisoners who suffer from diabetes, asthma and blood pressure. This is minus their wrongful conviction, that we all hope to be liberated from. This is what it looks like from our end–-what does it look like from you? Or for women prisoners who is going through menopause without access to cooler air and clean water. Liberation is a relief from any struggle you constantly face–it’s an ongoing fight for freedom! 6337 S. WOODLAWN AVENUE CHICAGO IL 60637 CHICAGOTORTUREJUSTICE.ORG
SEPTEMBER 2023 NEWSLETTER
Art from Inside Sherman Spears, a talented artist and art instructor at the Dixon Correctional Center, gifted the Center these paintings. We are so grateful and honored to be displaying Sherman's work on our walls. Here are words that Sherman shared with us:
CTJC, My name is Sherman Spears, I am the art instructor here at Dixon Corr. Cntr. I learned about your Love-a-thon through you news letter and a mutual friend of Mr. Beals. We were discussing the news letter and how great it would be to get the art community here at Dixon to join together and create some art pieces for donation to your organization for the tireless work you have done on behalf of the tortured and wrongfully convicted offenders who otherwise wouldn’t had a chance to defend themselves against the systematic racism that was prevalent in the culture of the Chicago Police Dept. I Initiated a drive amongst the artists here to create some pieces to donate to the Love-a-thon drive to decorate the offices of the CTJC. I personally was motivated to create an original piece that I felt represent the “broken system” of the CPD and the systemic racism, inequality and illegal practices of rogue officers within the department I know this original piece will spark the conversation and/or opinions of all viewers that see the piece. The “broken” piece is my representation of all the black and brown lifes that were lost as a result of the racist and illegal practices of those rogue policemen who has destroyed countless innocent men lives and families. The blood splatter also represent the lives of the officers that lost their lives in the line of duty. I want to personally thank the staff of CTJC for the tireless work and effort you put forward to ease the pain of the tortured and the injustice our men and families has and still endure fighting to right the wrongs of the Chicago Police Department and the “broken” criminal justice system. Thank You Much God Bless Sherman Spears Are you an artist? We need your help! The Love-a-thon, our annual fundraiser, is quickly approaching. We are seeking artists to help with a t-shirt design and to contribute artwork to our 2024 calendar. Proceeds from our shop go towards our transformative work. Are you an artist and want your art featured? Send us a sketch, poem, or any piece of work that you feel proud of! Write to Gilary Valenzuela at our mailing address.
Calendar and t-shirt design from our Love-a-thon 2023. Calendar artwork is by Chiara Francesca and Peregrine Bermas. The t-shirt design is by Aidan Frierson.
6337 S. WOODLAWN AVENUE CHICAGO IL 60637 CHICAGOTORTUREJUSTICE.ORG