CHICAGO - Experts predict that Illinois Governor Pat Quinn's plan to close two correctional facilities to help balance the budget could worsen the current problem of prison overcrowding. According to John Maki, director of the John Howard Association, a long-time prison reform advocacy group, there were about 7,000 people locked up in Illinois in the late 1970s. Today, nearly 50,000 inmates are squeezed into a system designed for about 33,000.
Maki says that means the Governor has some decisions to make about unintended consequences.
"If there is going to be a prison closed, it needs to be accompanied by a significant reduction in population and some kind of investment in community treatment programs which have been proven to reduce recidivism and crime."
Maki says part of the problem is that the state locks up non-violent drug offenders who could be put on electronic monitoring and treated in their communities.
A recent state study found African Americans in Illinois five times as likely to be put in prison for drug offenses as whites.
Jane Otte, executive director of Prisoner and Family Ministry at Lutheran Social Services of Illinois, says she sees that all the time. Otte calls it "the disproportionate effect of drug laws on minorities."
"We need to incarcerate the people who are violent, but as for people who are involved in addiction, we don't need to be paying $30,000 a year to incarcerate them."
Otte says programs that help ex-offenders become contributing members of their communities keep them from becoming repeat offenders, adding that the situation of children with locked-up parents is especially hard.
"We want to take off the fear and shame, particularly shame that the children bear because of the incarceration of their parents."
For those who advocate budget cuts and a "get tough on crime" approach, John Maki answers that getting tough on crime means effective prison systems.
"If research shows, which it does, that incarcerating low-level offenders only makes them worse and in a very expensive way of doing that, then let's change our practice."
Maki says he's not talking about the early release of violent criminals, who need to stay locked up. But with the state spending more than $1 billion a year on prisons, he says, examining approaches that work should be a priority.
get more stories like this via email
Three attorneys are joining forces to seek justice for a North Carolina family.
At a news conference, civil rights lawyer Ben Crump - along with attorneys Dawn Blagrove with Emancipate NC and Joe Fouche - announced the filing of a $25 million lawsuit on behalf of the family of Darryl Tyree Williams.
The suit is against the City of Raleigh, Raleigh's police chief, and five officers involved in the death of Williams.
Ben Crump said this was a case of excessive force stemming from a controversial practice of "proactive policing."
"They used this excuse where we're going to call them high-crime areas," said Crump. "And because of that, those people who live there don't have any constitutional rights."
He said this lawsuit calls on the city and police department to be accountable in upholding the 4th Amendment rights of Black people.
Williams died on January 17, 2023, approximately one hour after being repeatedly tased.
It was originally reported that Williams was only stunned three times, however the lawsuit alleges that number was actually six - after he was already in custody and handcuffed.
Williams' mom, Sonya Williams, stood beside her attorneys during the announcement at Mount Peace Baptist Church in Raleigh. She said for her this is about getting justice for her son.
"He was tased so many times as if he was some kind of vicious animal, and that was not right," said Williams. "He even told them about his heart problems, and they still tased him. I want justice."
Blagrove - also the executive director of Emancipate NC - said this case is not only about accountability, but it also aims to make sure that this doesn't happen to anyone else in the future.
It aims to make a change in the way tasers are handled.
"To ensure that this lawsuit is litigated in a way that is fair and just for this family," said Blagrove, "but more importantly, in a way that results in getting a change in policies, a change in practices, a change in procedures. "
Last year, the Wake County District Attorney declined to pursue charges against the involved officers.
Disclosure: Emancipate NC contributes to our fund for reporting on Civic Engagement, Criminal Justice, Human Rights/Racial Justice, Social Justice. If you would like to help support news in the public interest,
click here.
get more stories like this via email
People wrongfully convicted of crimes in the United States have received around $2.2 billion in compensation claims since 2019.
A new report by the National Registry of Exonerations said the amount nearly doubled in just five years.
Barbara O'Brien, editor of the registry, explained even if states saw fewer or no exonerations, it does not necessarily mean there are fewer wrongfully convicted people behind bars. She noted people in prison may not have access to the resources needed to prove their innocence.
"Since 1989, West Virginia's had 14 exonerations," O'Brien reported. "I always caution people not to read too much into the number of exonerations as some sort of indicator of how the systems are working."
Official misconduct is the reason for wrongful convictions in at least 77% of exoneration cases. West Virginia has a two-year time limit for filing compensation claims.
According to The Innocence Project, in 2020, the state changed the law to remove a clause requiring another person to be convicted of the same crime in order for the exonerated person to qualify for compensation.
Other factors leading to exonerations include perjury or false accusations, false or misleading forensic evidence, false confessions and mistaken witness identification. O'Brien pointed out it is not just taxpayers who end up footing the bill for bloated prisons and exoneration payments.
"Incarcerating people costs a lot of money," O'Brien outlined. "If we're incarcerating the wrong people, that's costing the taxpayers. And if it's a case where there is a real perpetrator out there who they didn't catch, they're committing more crimes."
She added cost cannot make up for lost time innocent people have spent behind bars. The report said exonerated individuals in 2023 lost more than 2,000 years collectively for crimes they did not commit, an average of around 15 years per person wrongfully imprisoned. Nearly 84% of exonerees last year were persons of color, and 61% were Black.
get more stories like this via email
South Dakota is creating an Office of Indigent Legal Services after House Bill 1057 passed the Legislature with nearly unanimous support this month.
The U.S. Constitution gives all people accused of a crime the right to a lawyer. South Dakota is one of only two states where counties, not the state, have been responsible for providing public defenders for those who cannot afford to pay.
Neil Fulton, dean of the Knudson School of Law at the University of South Dakota and co-chair of the Indigent Legal Services Task Force, said costs added up for counties, and noted there are added challenges for people in rural counties seeking attorneys.
"The biggest challenge is just availability," Fulton observed. "And the geographic reach from where the lawyer is to where the client is."
Fulton predicted the bill will improve the quality of public defense. He hopes to see the new state office taking cases by the end of this year, following the creation of a Commission on Indigent Legal Services and hiring and training attorneys.
It is still undecided how the program will be funded long-term. Indigent defendants are expected to pay back the costs of their legal services.
Samantha Chapman, advocacy manager for the American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota, urged changes to the practice.
"We hope that there'll be future policy reform bills changing the way that the state is recouping the costs from those indigent defendants, many of which will never be able to pay off their debt," Chapman stressed.
The changes to the system are projected to cost the state $1.4 million annually, and save counties more than $1.5 million.
get more stories like this via email