Meanwhile, back in that same old place

Remember Homan Square, the "off the books" interrogation facility in Chicago, that we briefly heard about in February? The Guardian has stayed on the case and we now know more about what's been happening in the City That Works:

At least 3,500 Americans have been detained inside a Chicago police warehouse described by some of its arrestees as a secretive interrogation facility, newly uncovered records reveal.

Of the thousands held in the facility known as Homan Square over a decade, 82% were black. Only three received documented visits from an attorney, according to a cache of documents obtained when the Guardian sued the police.

That's a little, uh, problematic. So is this:

Lawyers and former police officers say that lack of access to a lawyer after the arrest and before booking – particularly during any interrogation, and particularly people from poor minority communities – puts a suspect’s rights in jeopardy.

“In Chicago, the police do not provide people with attorneys at the police station at the times they most need them: when they’re subject to interrogation,” said Craig Futterman of the University of Chicago Law School. “That’s what the Miranda warning is all about: the right to counsel while interrogated by police.”

Even when suspects claim to understand their rights, “they still tend to incriminate themselves” without an attorney present, Lorenzo Davis, a former police detective and attorney who himself commanded a unit at Homan Square, explained.

There's a lot more at the link. It's worth your time.