In 2003, Madison Hobley walked off death row after being pardoned by then Gov. George Ryan. He had been convicted of an arson fire that killed his wife, his infant son, and five others. Ryan identified Hobley and three others as being tortured by Chicago police detectives and sentenced to death for crimes they had not committed.

Hobley settled a lawsuit against the city last January for $7.5 million. And the deal had a catch, if a U.S. Attorney-led investigation into the fire failed to bring any additional indictments by January 3, 2009, Hobley would be paid the bulk of his funds – $6.5 million.

Here to talk with us about this turn of events is John Conroy, who began covering the torture scandal for the Chicago Reader 20 years ago.

Music Button: Six Parts Seven, “Everything Wrong Is Right Again”, from the CD Casually Smashed To Pieces, (Suicide Squeeze records)