Former Illinois Guards Sentenced for Prisoner’s Fatal Beating by Benjamin Tschirhart by Benjamin Tschirhart On March 16, 2023, Judge Sue Myerscough of the federal court for the Central District of Illinois sentenced former state prison guards Alex Banta, 31, and Todd Sheffler, 54, to 20 years in prison for the …
Rowe v. Raoul, IL, Opinion, Cash Bail, 2023 2023 IL 129248 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS (Docket No. 129248) JAMES R. ROWE, Kankakee County State’s Attorney, et al., Appellees, v. KWAME RAOUL, Attorney General of Illinois, et al, Appellants. Opinion filed July 18, 2023. CHIEF JUSTICE …
News in Brief by Alabama: A guard with the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) was indicted on April 27, 2023, on charges he sexually abused two prisoners at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Aliceville, according to a report by the Birmingham News. Robert D. Smith allegedly had sexual intercourse …
Seventh Circuit Revives Illinois Prisoner’s Claim Over Prison Work Injury by Matthew Clarke by Matthew Clarke On December 15, 2022, the U.S. Courtof Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held that a district court erred when it dismissed an Illinois prisoner’s lawsuit for misjoinder of defendants and claims. Finding the claims …
Seventh Circuit: Attorney’s Submission of Illinois Prisoner’s Grievance Exhausts Administrative Remedies by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit on January 11, 2023, affirmed a district court ruling that when an Illinois prisoner’s attorney submitted his grievances to the appropriate administrative office …
Snowden v. Henning, IL, Opinion, Excessive Force, 2023 In the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ____________________ No. 21-1463 DONALD V. SNOWDEN, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. JEREMY HENNING, Defendant-Appellee. ____________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois. No. 3:19-cv-01322-JPG — J. Phil Gilbert, …
Staake v. Illinois DOC, IL, Settlement, FOIA Violation, 2023 IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE SEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT SANGAMON COUNTY, ILLINOIS JARED M. STAAKE, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) No. 2018-MR-710 2022-MR-129 ) vs. ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, Defendant. ) ) ) ) ) SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT AND GENERAL RELEASE This …
Almost $42,500 Awarded to Illinois Prisoner for Denial of Physical Therapy by Wellpath Nurse by Casey Bastian by Casey J. Bastian On May 31, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois awarded attorney’s fees and costs totaling $17,449.90 to a state prisoner who earlier convinced a …
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 …
