I've been saying this for a long time prosecutors who engage in prosecutory misconduct, they have to start being arrested, charged with crime because it's illegal. But guess what? Finally, it has happened, put up the picture for Mass, [00:00:15] this is a hell of a story in Illinois. In Illinois, Nick Trutenko and Andrew Horvat are two ex prosecutors being charged for their alleged role in lying in the case of Jackie Wilson. [00:00:35] Who wrongfully ended up spending 36 years in prison, they're now on trial. Wilson was exonerated in 2020, so Nick Trutenko faces charges including obstruction of justice and [00:00:54] perjury, and his co defendant Andrew Horvat was charged with official misconduct. Wilson endured decades behind bars for killing two Chicago cops, a crime he reportedly never did. [00:01:14] But his now deceased brother actually did the crime, and they knew it, we brought you this story a while ago. Wilson, ironically, his brother Andrew were arrested in [00:01:29] 1982 concerning the deaths of officers William Fahey and Robert O'Brien. They died from gunshot wounds when Lieutenant John Burge and [00:01:46] his team interrogated the duo. They were tortured and ultimately forced into making false confessions after getting brutally beaten. According to a post from the National Registry of Exoneration, [00:02:02] they were allegedly punched and kicked and received electric shocks, at one point, Andrew was burned after being tied to a radiator. Wilson described the torch in detail, [00:02:18] they beat me over the head with a dictionary, stuck a gun in my mouth, then they did the electric shock. Wilson recalled his experience at the time, per the outlet that came after, [00:02:37] this guy played Russian roulette with a gun in my mouth, end quote. According to report, Wilson's first conviction was tossed out on an appeal when he was retired in 1989, he was cleared of Fahey's death but convicted of O'Brien. [00:02:56] Wilson's defense team heavily argued that Burge's, that's the cop, the lieutenant that team pressured him to confess, resulting in his conviction being overturned again in 2018, as reported by the Associated Press. [00:03:11] Two years later, during Wilson's third trial, it was revealed that Trutenko, the prosecutor, had a close relationship with a significant witness, in his second trial. He's the head prosecutor during the 1989 trial, [00:03:30] admitted to being the godfather to one of the children of witness William Coleman. Per Fox, 32, Chicago he is accused of not telling his colleagues about the connection, and special prosecutors decided to dismiss the charges. [00:03:48] Horvat reportedly was charged for his actions while he was representing Trtuenko when he took the stand. According to reports, literally right before he took the stand, Andrew Horvat went to the special prosecutor Lavin Rosen and said, do not [00:04:08] ask Nick Trutenko about his relationship with William Coleman, end quote. He said there was nothing illegal or unethical, but it was just weird, that's not true, it was both illegal and it was unethical. [00:04:25] Special prosecutor Lawrence Oliver II told ABC 7 earlier this week, wow, it took all of this to finally get two prosecutors to face the criminal justice system. [00:04:45] Now, this is a huge story because it's abnormal, a police officer will be prosecuted at times for misconduct, not to the tune that they typically commit misconduct. [00:05:02] But a prosecutor is rarely ever before a judge in a criminal proceeding, but how many times have we covered stories of exoneration right here? And we clearly see how prosecutors engage in illegal activity, working hand [00:05:18] in glove with the law enforcement who also engage in illegal activity. Law enforcement, well, they may get a penalty suspended, sometimes charged, prosecutors, not so much. It's a new day now, these prosecutors are facing actual criminal penalty, [00:05:37] Ben, thoughts here. >> Speaker 2: It's such a tough story, hearing the treatment of Wilson, hearing that torture, just reading about it. I almost admitted to the murder because it was so hard to read, I mean, imagine going through it. [00:05:54] So obviously you can't take anything said during duress like that seriously, let alone as evidence. And I can't imagine, I can't fathom being in jail for a month of my life for something I did not do, let alone three and a half decades of your life. [00:06:13] It's just unconscionable and horrific, but I'm not surprised when I hear things like this, because we all know how broken our systems are. But I am surprised and pleased the few times when you do hear something like this, even decades later, [00:06:30] justice can still come, people can still be held to account for their actions. And that's a little bit of good news, a little bit of hope, as you say, that times are changing and people are being held more to account. And the times when it happens are times to really appreciate those moments, not [00:06:50] just for the potential punishment coming to those prosecutors who were corrupt. But because if it becomes a culture of holding corrupt prosecutors to account, they're gonna stop being as corrupt. They're gonna stop prosecuting in unethical ways and [00:07:07] that's a benefit to all of society. >> Speaker 1: That's right, to every single one of us, to all of us.