In a significant reversal, two major federal street-gang cases in Chicago are heading back to court this fall, following claims that prosecutors made undisclosed promises to witnesses. The first case, involving accused Wicked Town leader Donald Lee and suspected accomplice Torance Benson, both initially convicted last year, will see a new trial starting on September 2, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Their previous convictions, which were tied to numerous violent offenses including seven killings, came into question over the integrity of witness testimony.
U.S. District Judge Thomas Durkin, presiding over the retrials, highlighted the gravity of the prosecutorial missteps, saying that it was an “understatement” to term the errors as “avoidable.” Furthermore, in another ruling, Durkin ordered a new trial for Labar Spann, the reputed leader of the Four Corner Hustlers, originally convicted in 2021 and associated with four murders, with his retrial slated for November 3. The retrials not only signify setbacks for the prosecution but also represent a substantial drain of judicial and public resources, considering the original trials spanned roughly four months.
The cases brought to light during the sentencing preparations in 2024 involved questionable conduct by former prosecutors, who allegedly made unauthorized promises to key witnesses. In the Four Corner Hustlers case, it was found that ex-prosecutor Peter Salib made an unauthorized promise to key witness Sammie Booker, and in Lee and Benson’s instance, it was revealed that then-prosecutor John Mitchell made promises of reduced sentences to cooperative witnesses. While the prosecutors argued there were no “unqualified promises,” Judge Durkin declared, “A promise is a promise,” indicating that even a qualified promise to a witness should have been disclosed, as reported in the Chicago Sun-Times…