In 2013, one out of every 266 people in Illinois was in prison. For African-American residents, it was one in every 68 people. That’s just one of the shocking facts illustrating the serious racial disparity in Illinois’ criminal justice system. About 60 percent of the state’s prison population is black, despite African-American people making up […]
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Posted inArts & Culture
Little people, long sentences
15 to Life: Kenneth’s Story The United States is the only country in the world that regularly sentences children to life and death in prison. On Tuesday, Oct. 21, the Springfield branch of the American Civil Liberties Union invites the public to Capital City Bar & Grill for a free Liberty Brew & View screening […]
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Getting smart on crime
Rep. Michael Zalewski People convicted of low-level crimes in Illinois could soon see less time behind bars, but that doesn’t mean Illinois is going soft on crime. State lawmakers during the spring legislative session approved the creation of a committee to reconsider sentencing guidelines. However, the legislator who pushed the idea says it’s about being […]
Posted inNews
Getting it right
Brian Banks spent five years in prison for a rape that never occurred, but he was freed with help from the California Innocence Project. Banks is shown here carrying petitions calling for the release of another prisoner in California whom some believe to be innocent. PHOTO BY BRIAN VAN DER BRUG/MCT Brian Banks had the […]
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A beacon for ex-cons
Before he was even 12, Lorenzo Louden had shot a man and slept with two prostitutes. Growing up so early, it’s no wonder he preferred gang life to school and eventually wound up in prison. Now 57, Louden runs the Springfield-based nonprofit Tower of Refuge with his wife, Bevey. Using his life experience and her […]
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Fewer kids in Illinois prisons
During the late 1980s and 1990s, Illinois’ youth prisons began filling up rapidly. The tough-on-crime approach that began in the 1960s was at the peak of popularity, and state law reflected it in mandatory minimum sentences and other provisions. From 1985 to 2000, the state’s population of incarcerated youth more than doubled, from 1,534 to […]
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Juvenile Justice shows progress
When the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice was created in 2006, the state’s youth prisons held 1,500 juvenile offenders. Today, there are fewer than 900 kids behind bars in Illinois juvenile justice system. It’s one sign of progress for the relatively new department, which was previously part of the adult-oriented Illinois Department of Corrections. The […]
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We’re all losers in the War on Drugs
The “War on Drugs” launched by President Richard Nixon in the 1970s has had a lasting effect on society that can be felt decades later. For many American families the War on Drugs has created grief, separation and a continuous cycle of poverty. In the film The House I Live In, the drug industry […]
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Wrongly convicted man wins settlement 26 years later
After more than 26 years of fighting, Randy Steidl is ready to put the past behind him. The Paris, Ill., man spent 17 years on Illinois’ death row for a double murder he didn’t commit, but last week Steidl finally got some closure. His lawsuit against those who allegedly conspired to frame him and another […]
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Illinois starts giving prison inmates release credits
Certain Illinois inmates have started to receive early release credits under administrative rules adopted this month by the Illinois Department of Corrections. The move follows a state law passed last year in response to public outcry over a previous early release program. Well-behaved inmates who show potential for rehabilitation can receive up to 180 days […]
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Innocent, but still guilty
Although Anthony Murray walked out of prison on Oct. 31 a free man after 14 years, gaining his freedom required admitting to a murder he says he didn’t commit. “It’s been a long road,” the 41-year-old Chicago resident said in a Marion County courtroom in Salem during a hearing the day before his release. “I’m […]
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Agreement paves way for juvenile justice reforms
A federal class-action lawsuit settled last week requires Illinois to improve conditions for incarcerated youth, but the state agency overseeing the facilities says many reforms are already in place. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Illinois and the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice settled a lawsuit demanding improvements to safety, services and treatment for […]
