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A jury of six women and six men deliberated for about three hours on Tuesday afternoon before finding a former lieutenant at the Western Illinois Correctional Center in Mount Sterling guilty on five counts in connection with the 2018 death of a 65-year-old inmate.
Todd Sheffler, 54, of Mendon was stoic as he listened to Judge Sue Myerscough read the verdicts in a courtroom inside the U.S. District Courthouse in the Paul Findley Federal Building in downtown Springfield. Two United States Marshals escorted Sheffler from the courtroom and took him to the Sangamon County Jail. He now could face life in prison. […]
Three jurors said it didn’t take long to reach a verdict after hearing three weeks of testimony.
“There was overwhelming evidence that (Earvin) was beaten and that Sheffler was in the room where it happened, whether he did anything or not,” juror Patricia Finnigan of Atlanta, Ill., told John O’Connor of the Associated Press. “He could have stopped it. He was a supervisor. So there was no question.”
A federal grand jury had previously returned an indictment against Sheffler, 54, of Mendon, Ill.; Willie Hedden, 43, of Mt. Sterling, Ill.; and Alex Banta, 31, of Quincy, Ill., in December 2019, charging them with civil rights resulting in bodily injury and death and obstruction charges.
During the jury trial before U.S. District Judge Sue E. Myerscough, the government presented evidence that Sheffler; Hedden, who was a sergeant at the facility; and Banta, who was a correctional officer, participated in the May 17, 2018, assault of Mr. Earvin, 65, during their forcible escort of Mr. Earvin from the residential housing unit of the prison to the segregation housing unit while he was restrained and handcuffed behind his back and while he posed no physical threat to the defendants or other correctional officers. The assault resulted in serious bodily injury to Mr. Earvin, including multiple broken ribs, a punctured mesentery, and other serious internal injuries, and resulted in Mr. Earvin’s death in June 2018. After the assault, all three defendants falsified incident reports that they filed with prison officials and lied to the Illinois State Police by denying any knowledge of or participation in the assault.
Following the trial, Sheffler was convicted of all five charges in the indictment: conspiracy to deprive civil rights and deprivation of civil rights under color of law resulting in bodily injury and death; conspiracy to engage in misleading conduct; obstruction – falsification of a document; and obstruction – misleading conduct.
Sheffler is the second ex-guard convicted in the death of Larry Earvin in May 2018. A separate jury convicted Alex Banta, 31, of similar charges in April. That jury could not reach a verdict on Sheffler, so the government tried him again.
“The defense made a statement about the long, cruel arm of government,” assistant U.S. Attorney Eugene Miller said in his closing statement. “Todd Sheffler violated his training, violated the U.S. Constitution and allowed, participated in and covered up the brutal beating of a 65-year-old man, defenseless, a fellow citizen, handcuffed behind his back and lying on the cold, hard concrete floor. He was the long, cruel arm of government.” […]
“There was overwhelming evidence that he was beaten and that Sheffler was in the room where it happened, whether he did anything or not,” said juror Patricia Finnigan, 60, of Atlanta. “He could have stopped it. He was a supervisor. So there was no question.”
Serving a sentence for theft, Earvin was eligible for parole in four months when he allegedly became belligerent in disobeying a guard’s order to return to his cell at Western Illinois Correctional Center in Mount Sterling, 249 miles (400 kilometers) southwest of Chicago.
Earvin was just months from his release after serving about three years on a theft charge. His hands were cuffed behind his back when he was beaten by as many as 13 guards in a part of the prison where there were no surveillance cameras, according to court documents.
Earvin, 65, died nearly six weeks after the May 17, 2018, attack in which he was punched, kicked, stomped and jumped on, court records said. […]
The assault resulted in injuries prosecutors said were similar to those resulting from a high-speed car crash. Earvin suffered hemorrhages, lacerations, more than two dozen abrasions, and 15 fractures to his ribs. The injuries resulted in surgeons having to remove part of his colon.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugene Miller told the court in April that guards were upset because Earvin was “being difficult” while being returned to a cell.
posted by Isabel Miller
Thursday, Aug 25, 22 @ 10:21 am
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In some distant future, we as a Nation will need to decide whether or not it is possible to create and maintain a humane prison system. We have to date, generally failed to do so. Many of our prisons and jails are as unjust as the life circumstances which breed hatred and evil acts.
Comment by H-W Thursday, Aug 25, 22 @ 10:59 am
I’d bet my house there was at least one workers’ comp claim made by a guard who participated in beating this guy to death. Being that these are DOC employees you can be certain they’re well trained to file claims for anything as serious as a toe contusion.
Comment by Larry Bowa Jr. Thursday, Aug 25, 22 @ 11:27 am
Getting this out of the way: No inmate should be subjected to that type of a beat down (exception: when a CO walks in on an inmate beating another CO or Correctional employee. Case in point, an inmate was sexually assaulting a staff member and the CO walked in on the event).
Having said all that, what’s not reported are the circumstances that lead to the COs actions. With that said, most of anyone commenting on the treatment of inmates has no idea the treatment of the STAFF at facilities. Not condoning what happened at Western, however, you have to understand the day in and day out behaviors of inmates. Breaking points: everyone has them and men and women in uniform definitely are more prone to snapping.
My point: I’m not one sided in this; safety of ALL needs to be addressed.
Comment by Alice Childress Thursday, Aug 25, 22 @ 11:28 am
=Alice=
A humane prison system would work for both the prisoners and the staff.
Comment by H-W Thursday, Aug 25, 22 @ 12:10 pm
The justice system works, but this is a clear example where the justice system failed and the needed oversight to ensure humane treatment is a norm not a luxury, for lack of a better term, especially when no prisoner should feel death at the hands of the staff.
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Aug 25, 22 @ 12:30 pm
“being that these are DOC employees”
Don’t go shooting all the dogs just cause a couple have fleas.
Comment by Flying Elvis'-Utah Chapter Thursday, Aug 25, 22 @ 12:39 pm
The real story is that CO’s routinely do stuff like this in many Illinois prisons and IDOC officials don’t care.
Comment by CODI Thursday, Aug 25, 22 @ 12:47 pm
If I’m JB I’d make an exec order to install cameras and recorders to cover that blind spot R.F.N.
Comment by Give Us Barabbas Thursday, Aug 25, 22 @ 3:27 pm
Hey CODI, you wish to provide evidence? Mindless posts are so, mindless *eye roll*
Comment by Alice Childress Friday, Aug 26, 22 @ 8:03 am
===exception===
- Alice Childress -
So, beat downs *are* acceptable.
That’s an odd take.
Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Aug 26, 22 @ 8:19 am