By DANIEL KELLEY
A man exonerated of rape
charges filed a federal lawsuit alleging a former East St. Louis detective beat
him until he falsely confessed to the crime.
Marlon M. Miller, 21, of East
St. Louis, was arrested Feb. 18 in connection with the robbery and rape of a
32-year-old East St. Louis woman as she left a MetroLink train at the Emerson
Park station on Jan. 29, 2013.
The lawsuit alleges former East
St. Louis Detective Orlando Ward coerced a confession from Miller by hitting
him out of view of the police department's recording devices. Miller seeks more
than $50,000 from Ward and $100,000 from the city of East St. Louis.
Neither Ward nor his attorney
could be reached for comment Tuesday.
Miller was detained in jail
from Feb. 20 until June 4 when the results of a DNA test cleared him of the
charges. The lawsuit was filed in federal court Jan. 30.
The DNA results led to the
arrest of Dominic R. Hood, 19, of East St. Louis. Hood faces six counts of
criminal sexual assault, one count of aggravated sexual assault, and one count
of armed robbery with a firearm in connection with the attack on the woman who
left the MetroLink station.
East St. Louis Police Chief
Michael Floore previously denied Miller's allegations saying inmates are
continuously videotaped while in custody. Floore could not be reached for
comment Tuesday.
Miller's attorney, Jarrod
Beasley with the Kuehn Law Firm in Belleville, said, "East St. Louis'
response that coercion is impossible because the confession was videotaped is
preposterous."
"The idea that the
interrogating officer would coerce a confession out of Mr. Miller in an area he
knows is wired for sound and video defies logic. We should remember, the
officers know where and when they are being recorded ... and where they are
not," Miller said.
In November, Ward pleaded
guilty to two federal counts of cocaine-related drug charges and faces up to
nine years in prison. Ward resigned from the East St. Louis Police Department
in May.
During the drug case, the U.S.
Attorney's Office described Ward as a corrupt cop who was paid $5,000 a month
to provide information and police protection as part of a drug conspiracy.
"The investigating officer
(Ward) has been convicted of a felony while entrusted by the community with
upholding the law. He wasn't upholding the law, he was flaunting it, he was
abusing it, and he was breaking it. Thankfully, because of his conviction, he
can never carry a badge or a gun again," Beasley said. "But what of
the victims of his corruption? What of the victims of his abuse of power? What
of the injuries he inflicted during his reign? What of the innocent people he
forced to confess to crimes they did not commit? In short, what of Marlon
Miller."
"The police are trained to
lie to the accused," Beasley added. "So, modern interrogation is more
psychologically oriented. We should remember the blood of the accused is not
the only hallmark of an unconstitutional inquisition. Put simply, innocent
people do not confess to crimes without coercion. A fact we plan to demonstrate
in this case."
Hood remains detained at the
St. Clair County Jail. He was on probation for aggravated unlawful use of a
weapon, a felony, when he allegedly raped and robbed the East St. Louis woman.
Miller faces two felony charges
stemming from an arrest on Aug. 29. Miller was charged with aggravated battery
and aggravated unlawful use of a firearm, according to St. Clair County records
