People v. Whirl

After denial of motion to suppress his confession, Defendant pled guilty to murder and armed robbery committed in 1990. Illinois Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission found that Defendant's confession was coerced. Court erred in denying Defendant's motion for leave to file successive postconviction petition and in denying Defendant's combined petition filed under Post-Conviction Hearing Act and Illinois Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission Act. Defendant's plea was voluntary as he chose to accept a 60-year sentence as opposed to possible death penalty, but he continued to profess his innocence. Evidence showed that detective James Pienta was directly involved in systematic torture and abusive tactics at Area 2 not too remote in time from when he inflicted injury upon an existing wound on Defendant's leg while questioning him. New evidence, together with Pienta's invocation of his fifth amendment rights, when weighed against State's original evidence, was conclusive enough that outcome of suppression hearing likely would have been different had that evidence been presented. (LAVIN and HYMAN, concurring.)