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* Background is here if you need it. From the Associated Press…
Three former Illinois prison guards face life behind bars after the 2018 fatal beating of a 65-year-old inmate in a case marked by the unpunished lies of other correctional officers who continue to get pay raises, records obtained and court documents show.
Juries convicted Department of Corrections Officer Alex Banta in April and Lt. Todd Sheffler in August of federal civil rights violations owing largely to the cooperation of the third, Sgt. Willie Hedden. Hedden hopes for a reduced sentence — even though he admitted lying about his involvement until entering a guilty plea 18 months ago.
But Hedden’s account of what happened to Western Illinois Correctional Center inmate Larry Earvin on May 17, 2018, is not unique. Similar testimony was offered by six other correctional officers who still work at the lockup in Mount Sterling, 249 miles southwest of Chicago.
Like Hedden, all admitted under oath that initially, they lied to authorities investigating Earvin’s death, including to the Illinois State Police and the FBI. They covered up the brutal beatings that took place and led to Earvin’s death six weeks later from blunt-force trauma to the chest and abdomen, according to an autopsy reports.
Documents obtained under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act indicate that none of the guards has been punished for the coverup. Despite admitting their indiscretions, Lts. Matthew Lindsey and Blake Haubrich, Sgts. Derek Hasten, Brett Hendricks and Shawn Volk and Officer Richard Waterstraat have flourished — three have been promoted, one has been on paid leave, and on average, they’ve seen salary hikes of nearly 30% and increases in pension benefits.
* The John Howard Association helped push Illinois into compliance with federal and state disclosure laws…
JHA led the effort to bring IL into compliance with the federal Death in Custody Reporting Act; more transparency is critical to identifying preventable deaths, abuse, and neglect & addressing these problems. @ICJIA_Illinois Learn more here: https://t.co/qYkcntauzX
— John Howard Assn. (@JHAofIllinois) October 28, 2022
posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Oct 31, 22 @ 12:30 pm
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Previous Post: A trans conspiracy theory, broken windows, false claims, big money and Tulsi Gabbard - Just another day in Illinois politics
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I think the headline should say IDOC instead of IDOT
Comment by Central Ill Monday, Oct 31, 22 @ 12:34 pm
“Despite admitting their indiscretions”
Yeah, gonna need to pull that reporter and their editor aside for a quick and loud conversation on the word “indiscretions.”
Comment by Scott Fawell's Cellmate Monday, Oct 31, 22 @ 12:39 pm
“they lied to authorities investigating Earvin’s death, including to the Illinois State Police and the FBI”
As we’ve seen time and time again, for anyone outside of corrections and policing, lying to the feds ends in prison time.
They do look out for their own, don’t they?
– MrJM
Comment by MisterJayEm Monday, Oct 31, 22 @ 12:47 pm
Gotta love that AFSCME contract
Comment by Magic Dragon Monday, Oct 31, 22 @ 1:22 pm
It’s always great to hear about folks in the prison system being able to rehabilitate themselves and become productive members of society. (/s?)
Comment by Henry Francis Monday, Oct 31, 22 @ 1:28 pm
It is difficult and time consuming to punish a union state employee. It requires a good deal of backbone and effort to see the process through. There is an unbelievable amount of negotiating required to mete out even the smallest of amount of discipline. All of this takes place several levels above the actual employee and his supervisor. If upper management does not want to bother with it, it just goes away. Things that will get you fired immediately in most any other workplace will often go unpunished as a result.
Comment by Captain Obvious Monday, Oct 31, 22 @ 1:59 pm
On afscme not idoc
Comment by Pete Mitchell Monday, Oct 31, 22 @ 2:35 pm
Scott @ 12:39 beat me to it–”indiscretions”?
A person was beaten to death and they lied about it. To paraphrase the Princess Bride, “I do not think [that word] means what you think it means.”
Comment by Leslie K Monday, Oct 31, 22 @ 4:09 pm