News in Brief by Arizona: A private prison guard in Arizona was picked up on drug charges in California on April 18, 2023, as he made his way back from Mexico with his wife and kids – along with almost 53 pounds of meth and heroin stashed in the gas …
Seventh Circuit Allows Illinois Prisoner to Prove Administrative Remedy Was “Unavailable” in Double-Celling Complaint by David Reutter by David M. Reutter On December 14, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit took up the latest in a “slew” of cases by Illinois prisoners alleging they are “housed …
Illinois Makes Abortion Care Free for State Prisoners by Chuck Sharman by Chuck Sharman After a media investigation found Illinois prisoners were forced to pay for abortion procedures – even covering the wages of guard escorts to and from medical providers – Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) ordered the state Department …
Former Prison Guard Hit With $2.5 Million Judgment in Suit to Force Painter to Acknowledge Painting He Did Not Create by Benjamin Tschirhart by Benjamin Tschirhart Over 10 years ago, when former prison guard Robert Fletcher heard from a friend that a painting he owned was an early untitled work …
Body Cam Video Contradicts Detainee’s Indictment in Scuffle With Chicago Jail Guards by Jo Ellen Nott by Jo Ellen Nott A long-term civil detainee in Chicago’s Cook County Jail – the only one, in fact – is facing charges of aggravated battery of a guard, although body camera footage of …
Washington v. Boudreau, IL, Memo of Law, Wrongful Conviction, 2023 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS EASTERN DIVISION WAYNE WASHINGTON, ) ) Plaintiff, ) Case No. 16 CV 1893 ) v. ) Honorable John Kness ) Magistrate Judge Maria Valdez KENNETH BOUDREAU, et al., ) ) …
Fear and Silence-How Culture, Policy, and the Win at All Costs Mentality Allows Police Testilying to Thrive, Jan. 2023 R A E F AND E C N E L I S HOW CULTURE, POLICY, AND THE "WIN AT ALL COSTS" MENTALITY ALLOWS POLICE TESTILYING TO THRIVE Chicago Appleseed Center for …
Pippion v. Hedden, IL, Settlement, Wrongful Death - Beating, 2023 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS LARRY PIPPION, as Representative of the Estate of Larry Earvin, Plaintiff, -vsSGT. WILLIE HEDDEN, LT. BENJAMIN BURNETT, LT. BL~ HAUBRICH, CAMERON WATSON, ASSISTANT WARDEN STEVE SNYDER, LT. TODD SHEFFLER, OFFICER …
Three Guards Arrested in One Week at Chicago Jail by Chuck Sharman by Chuck Sharman Three guards at the Cook County Jail in Chicago were arrested in separate violent incidents during one week in April 2023. The jail recorded its seventh detainee death of the year the month before, one …
Shielded From Public View, Misconduct by Corrections Staff in Illinois Prisons Received Scant Discipline by Shannon Heffernan By Shannon Heffernan, WBEZ At least 18 corrections employees abused or used excessive force against incarcerated people in Illinois, according to internal corrections investigations. They all remained on the job. Correctional officer James …
Seventh Circuit Says Medical Malpractice Is Not a Constitutional Violation by Jacob Barrett by Jacob Barrett On June 27, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed summary judgment for Illinois prison officials who delayed a prisoner’s appendicitis treatment until he needed emergency surgery. Incredibly, though acknowledging …
Illinois DOC Accused of Fraudulently Obtaining Do Not Resuscitate Orders From Mentally Incompetent Prisoners by Jordan Arizmendi by Jordan Arizmendi A report by Chicago’s WBEZ on April 4, 2023, revealed a chilling accusation against the Illinois Department of Corrections (DOC): That officials got signatures on Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) orders …
Harris v. Calloway, IL, Verdict, Denial of Medical Care, 2023 2:17-cv-02075-MMM-JEH Filed: 04/04/23 # 131 Page 1 of 1 E-FILED Tuesday, 04 April, 2023 03:01:13 PM Clerk, U.S. District Court, ILCD Judgment in a Civil Case (02/11) UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT for the Central District of Illinois Larry G. Harris, …
Seventh Circuit Overturns Class Decertification in Cook County Jail Disability Lawsuit by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit on November 14, 2022, reversed the decertification of a class in a lawsuit alleging that Division 10 of the Cook County Jail does …
Polling Stations Inside Jails Combat Voter Disenfranchisement by Keith Sanders by Keith Sanders America’s carceral system strips millions of people of many privileges as citizens. Even when released, some of those privileges are not regained. Take voting, for instance. Felons – with rare exceptions in a couple of states – …
Almost $650,000 Paid by Illinois to Prisoner Who Lost Leg to Untreated Diabetes by Keith Sanders by Keith Sanders On February 2, 2023, the federal court for the Central District of Illinois denied a motion to overturn a $400,000 jury verdict for a state prisoner, who suffered serious complications arising …
Doe v. MacLeod, IL, Opinion, Sexual Abuse, 2023 3:18-cv-03191-SEM-KLM # 187 Page 1 of 64 E-FILED Wednesday, 29 March, 2023 09:09:46 AM Clerk, U.S. District Court, ILCD IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS SPRINGFIELD DIVISION JANE DOE, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) …
News in Brief by News in Brief Alabama: On January 9, 2023, the Montgomery Police Department (MPD) arrested a guard at the city jail for an alleged off-duty assault, the Birmingham News reported. It’s unclear who filed the misdemeanor complaint against Reba Foulks, 36; MPD didn’t begin its investigation until …
Illinois Supreme Court Orders State DOC to Fund Required Treatment and Housing for Sex Offender’s Conditional Release by David Reutter by David M. Reutter On September 22, 2022, the Supreme Court of Illinois agreed with a former state prisoner that when the state sets conditions for release that he can’t …
SCOTUS Helps Revive Malicious Prosecution Claim Against Chicago Police Officers by Kevin Bliss, David Reutter by Kevin Bliss and David M. Reutter On July 14, 2022, in a case on remand from the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit agreed that a “result opposite” …
