Publishers Weekly
12/17/2018
In this harrowing story of abuse and courage, Taylor, an attorney and advocate for victims of police violence, recounts how Chicago police—led by the late Jon Burge, a commander in the police department who was fired in 1993—tortured roughly 120 black men into confessing (often falsely) to crimes in the 1970s and ’80s. Taylor argues that there was a pattern of torture and that city officials, attorneys, and judges all shielded the perpetrators from discipline through institutionalized subterfuge and a police code of silence. Taylor and others got commuted sentences for victims who had been sentenced to death based solely on confessions extracted during torture, worked toward the eventual abolition of the death penalty in Illinois, and won settlements for many of the victims whose lives were spent in prison. After 30 years of legal battles for the rights of the tortured, overwhelming evidence and public opinion put pressure on the Chicago city government to admit to the torture and cover-ups and finally offer reparations to those targeted. This is sometimes difficult to read, due to the descriptions of brutal treatment, but Taylor writes with conviction and empathy, and the events covered will be of interest to audiences concerned with the history of police brutality and activism against oppression. (Feb.)
From the Publisher
"If it was not for Flint Taylor I would still be languishing in prison. He brought hope to a hopeless place." —Darrell Cannon, Torture survivor"It is impossible to fully understand the continuing challenges created by unjustifiable police violence against black and brown people without appreciating the historical backdrop that sustains this national crisis. Flint Taylor's powerful new book, informed by his decades as one of the most effective advocates addressing these issues, is a must read." —Bryan Stevenson, best-selling author of Just Mercy"Taylor is a walking passcode to CPD misconduct. It was Taylor and his colleagues who unearthed the crimes committed by the “Midnight Crew,” a squad of racist cops who tortured blacks to extract their false confessions." —Rolling Stone"Taylor's The Torture Machine is a sad but necessary reminder of how citizens can be victimized by those who are supposed to protect them and how that abuse can poison entire neighborhoods. But it is also a story of a hard-won hope that resulted in some degree of justice for victims and an effort to remind children of what once happened in the hope that it won't be repeated. The book is a chronicle of tenacity and hope alongside brutality and injustice, and in that way it is a profoundly Chicago story." —Psychology Today"[A] searing memoir... essential reading for all who care about this country—past and future." —Heather Ann Thompson, Pulitzer Prize winning author of Blood in the Water"Incredible and devastating." —Jeremy Scahill"If you want to understand what actually happened to those Jon Burge tortured read this book. " —Anthony Holmes, Torture survivor"[Torture Machine] is a riveting account...a forensic analysis of decades of collusion between judges, politicians, prosecutors and the police to engage in systemic human rights violations." —Juan Gonzalez"[A] harrowing tale...Taylor illuminates in graphic detail the scars caused by some of the worst elements of law enforcement in a city perpetually beset by violence." —Kirkus"Harrowing...Taylor writes with conviction and empathy." —Publishers Weekly"[A] compelling book...." — Booklist, Starred Review"This book is a powerful testament to their courage and determination and is essential reading for anyone wanting to understand what can happen when those in power condone violations of civil and constitutional rights for political expediency." —Mary E. Howell, Civil Rights Attorney"A stunning, sweeping history of police violence in Chicago, and Flint Taylor's lifelong pursuit of racial justice. Quite literally the work of a lifetime." —Alison Flowers, Author of Exoneree Diaries: The Fight for Innocence, Independence, and Identity"[A]n indispensable and searing account of the barbarous regime of policing under Jon Burge, and the ongoing fight for justice." —Martha Biondi, author of To Stand and Fight. James Thindwa, Labor Activist and Board Member, In These Times."[A]n unsparing dissection of foundational racism in the criminal justice system ... It could not be more timely." —Jaime Kalven, Investigative Reporter, Executive Director, Invisible Institute"Each victim's case is a fascinating story in itself while the totality of the lawyers' efforts fighting a resistant establishment is staggering." —The Observer
Kirkus Reviews
2018-12-19
A founding partner of the Chicago-based People's Law Office recounts his career fighting on behalf of victims of police malfeasance, especially torture and wrongful death.
"If the torture machine teaches one lesson above all, it is that torture is as American as apple pie," writes Taylor, whose long career is a catalog of hard-fought battles for racial justice waged in Chicago's courtrooms. In this personal narrative, Taylor offers no introductions or preludes, plunging straight into the heart of the beast: a morass of police corruption and conspiracy dating back to the December 1969 assassinations of Black Panther leaders Fred Hampton and Mark Clark. Discussing his arrival on the scene of what authorities were selling as a police raid gone wrong, the author writes, "shock and grief soon met with the dawning realization that the police claims of a shootout were bold-faced lies. We were looking at a murder scene." Thus begins the harrowing tale of the author's 13-year crusade with the PLO "to uncover and expose the truth about that murderous raid." The author also chronicles the next three decades spent seeking justice for survivors of a conspiracy of brutal torture carried out by police during their investigations. Sparing no details, Taylor reveals the police force's reign of terror and the Gestapo-like interrogation tactics administered by Lt. Jon Burge and his squad of "confederates." For 20 years, using a variety of tactics, including suffocation, pistol-whipping, and electric shock—all under a cloak of secrecy—Burge and company beat confessions from dozens of victims. The author uncovers stories of secret files, a code of silence among police officers, and complicity among politicians, and he shows how he and the PLO worked for years to free prisoners whose incarcerations were based on torture confessions while winning "more than $35,000,000 in settlements, verdicts, and reparations for more than sixty torture survivors."
Taylor illuminates in graphic detail the scars caused by some of the worst elements of law enforcement in a city perpetually beset by violence.
