The man who survived 28 gunshot wounds in 2005 by the hands of Chicago police was sentenced Thursday to 40 years. A motion to appeal will be heard May 1.
Rosalind Morgan said God saved her husband Howard Morgan from 28 bullets and she trusts God to be the “ram in the bush” Thursday when the former police officer is sentenced for the attempted murders of four Chicago police officers.
Howard Morgan was acquitted of multiple aggravated battery charges against four Chicago police officers in 2007. He was retried and convicted this year on four counts of attempted murder.
Morgan’s due in court April 5 for sentencing.
“My husband is innocent,” Rosalind Morgan told the Defender.
Morgan, a former eight-year Chicago police officer, was heading home after his shift at the Burlington Northern Sante Fe Railroad Co. ended Feb. 21, 2005 when he was stopped by four officers shortly after midnight.
Police said Morgan’s van lights were off and he was going the wrong way down a one-way street on 19th Street and Lawndale Avenue.
Morgan said he was pulled out of the van and pummeled by the officers, even after he identified himself as a police officer. A brief struggle ensued as Morgan attempted to retrieve his identification. One of the officers searched him and found his gun in his waistband and yelled, “Gun!” according to defense testimony at the first trial.
Morgan’s body was riddled with 28 gunshot wounds –– 21 to the backside and seven to the front side, his wife said.
“My husband was shot like an animal. Half of his colon was cut away due to the bullets. They were trying to murder Mr. Morgan. When he lived they concocted a story,” Mrs. Morgan said through tears.
Morgan’s bond was initially set at $2 million, an amount that shocked retired Judge Leo Holt, one of the attorneys representing Morgan.
“The defense asked Judge [Clayton J.] Crane to reduce bond to $600,000 and he honored the request,” Holt said in 2007.
After the original bond amount was determined, Mrs. Morgan raised the $200,000 needed for her husband to be released. He was released on bond November 2005.
After the second trial earlier this year his bond was revoked and Morgan was taken into custody on January 27.
“We asked if he could stay out on bond, but they denied our request. I couldn’t even hug my husband before they took him away. He’s not a flight risk and never missed a court hearing. He’s dangerous because he’s an African-American man,” his wife said.
Mrs. Morgan refuses to fathom the uncertain reality her husband may spend the rest of his life behind bars.
“I’m not claiming that; I rebuke it in the name of Jesus,” she stressed.
Copyright 2012 Chicago Defender
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