Estate of Quentin Larry Sues Sheriff Dan Walsh After 5 Deaths in the Champaign County Jail

Submitted by Brian Dolinar on May 15, 2007 - 12:14pm
On May 4, 2007, the Estate of Quentin Larry filed a civil suit in federal court for the wrongful death of Quentin Larry. They are represented by Jude Redwood, a civil rights attorney from St. Joseph, in case #07-CV-2093. When Quentin Larry died in the Champaign County jail over Memorial Day weekend 2006, he was the fifth death to occur in the jail over a two-year period. Another man, age 31, died of a heart attack in 2005. Jail deaths became an issue in 2004, when there were three jail suicides in six months. Only eight or nine jail suicides are documented in Illinois each year. In 2004, jail suicides in Champaign County were one third of the total in the state. Additionally, in November 2005 it was discovered that a jail guard was using a Taser on inmates while they were fully restrained. Sheriff Dan Walsh and the Champaign County Board has refused calls for an independent investigation. This new civil suit by the Estate of Quentin Larry may now get to the bottom of what is going on in the county jail. But it may be far more costly to the taxpayers of Champaign County. Coroner’s Inquest Quentin Larry was arrested early morning on May 27, 2006 by Urbana police. He was charged with a misdemeanor and taken to the satellite jail. At the Coroner’s inquest in August, we heard testimony from Champaign police officer Mark Huckstep, who did the investigation. (In Champaign County, an “independent” investigation can involve Champaign city police investigating the Champaign County Sheriff’s Department.) According to Huckstep, at 12:45 p.m. on May 27, a 20-minute mental health evaluation was conducted on Larry. The nurse found that he had high blood pressure and was acting paranoid and delusional. Yet at that time, no special treatment was given to Larry. At approximately 9:00 p.m., over 17 hours after Larry arrived in the jail, he was found collapsed on the floor of his cell. At 9:04, Sergeant Johnson had checked up on Larry. At 9:09, Johnson found Larry down and not breathing. When there was an attempt to administer CPR, a bag was found in Larry’s mouth and removed. He was revived and sent to Carle Hospital, where he arrived at 9:29 p.m. The next morning, May 28, at 6:10 a.m. the doctors pronounced him dead. Huckstep’s explanation was that Larry had died after he had swallowed the bag, the bag was ripped open, and the cocaine contained in the bag caused an overdose. Officer Huckstep concluded by saying, “I believe they did everything they could to try to save him.” Excessive Physical Force The civil suit complaint claims that Sheriff’s Deputies knew that Larry required emergency care but refused to take action. It alleges that Deputies used “excessive physical force” against Larry and caused his death. The suit claims that Sheriff Walsh created an atmosphere where “unconstitutional behavior is ratified, tolerated, acquiesced or condoned, in reckless disregard and deliberate indifference to the welfare of the public.” One of Walsh’s Deputies named in the suit is Jeremy Heath, who had participated with former Sgt. William Alan Myers, in beating inmate Michael Rich in 2004 and falsified a police report (04-CF-2053). Rich filed a formal complaint and Walsh did nothing. Also named in the suit is Health Professionals Ltd., a private provider that started in 1995 and has grown with the ever-expanding prison industrial complex. HPL was hired by Walsh in May 2004. The civil suit claims that the HPL nurse on duty was negligent in providing care for Larry. The suit was filed to provide compensation for Larry’s two young children who were left fatherless. Inmate Rights Remember, inmates in the county jail have not been found guilty of anything. The U.S. Constitution guarantees the fair treatment of jail inmates and protects them from “cruel and unusual punishment.” Despite his boyish demeanor, Sheriff Dan Walsh has been arrogant and defiant when questioned about the conditions in the jail. In a public forum held on March 13, 2007, Walsh was asked about what he thought about a police review board. He responded, “There is one. Its every four years for the Sheriff and any other elected official.” After hearing the testimony of Officer Huckstep, the six member coroner’s jury came back with a ruling that found Quentin Larry’s death to be accidental. They entered a recommendation that Sheriff Dan Walsh review the procedure for processing individuals and conduct more thorough searches. A year after Larry’s death, how can we to be sure that any such recommendations have been implemented? How is the public to know there will not be another death in the county jail as the summer approaches and the jails begin to swell with black and poor people? BD
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Great.

Submitted by Xander on May 15, 2007 - 10:37pm.
"Huckstep’s explanation was that Larry had died after he had swallowed the bag, the bag was ripped open, and the cocaine contained in the bag caused an overdose. Officer Huckstep concluded by saying, 'I believe they did everything they could to try to save him.'" Call me crazy, but dying after eating a bag of cocaine seems pretty reasonable to me. Of course, this is all the cops' fault. They should have rushed him, strip-searched him, and ripped the bag right out of his anus or wherever he stored it. Screw civil rights! Protecting people with a deathwish from themselves is paramount. "According to Huckstep, at 12:45 p.m. on May 27, a 20-minute mental health evaluation was conducted on Larry. The nurse found that he had high blood pressure and was acting paranoid and delusional. Yet at that time, no special treatment was given to Larry." So, what should they have done? Shot him up with antipsychotics against his will? That's a very, very interesting interpretation of a person's right to treatment. No way could something like that ever be abused. I'd love to hear you expound upon this.

Deaths in county jail

Submitted by anonymous on May 16, 2007 - 12:59am.
Mr. (Ale)Xander do you have any concerns about the number of deaths in the county jail over such a short period of time? Is it too much speculation in your field to tie torturing inmates with tasers, falsifying police reports, sending innocent people to prison, threatening fellow officers, stalking ex-wives and threatening them, to hanging inmates? the reason I ask such questions is that what seems to be being addressed through the law suit and the work of Sandra Ahten, CUCPJ (that you seem VERY PISSED OFF About) is the climate of the jail and the fact that negligence, cover ups and misconduct are running rampid? Do you disagree? What do you offer as a reasonable solution to the eroding of the public trust resulting from the incidents surrounding County officers and the deaths?

Further

Submitted by Xander on May 15, 2007 - 10:44pm.
"How is the public to know there will not be another death in the county jail as the summer approaches and the jails begin to swell with black and poor people?" I would imagine most black and poor people would be smart enough not to eat bags of cocaine. If you disagree, I hate to imagine what you think of poor black people.

questions

Submitted by Brian Dolinar on May 16, 2007 - 6:22am.
How did Larry get drugs into the jail? Has Walsh done anything to prevent this in the future? There are rumors that Larry had been crying and screaming before he was found collapsed. Should he have received medical attention earlier? If Larry was acting paranoid and delusional, should he have received a mental health evaluation? BD

I don't know why I even bother.

Submitted by Xander on May 16, 2007 - 11:00am.
"How did Larry get drugs into the jail?" Obviously, the CIA introduced it as part of a racist conspiracy. Seriously, Brian, is this the first time you've heard of the fact that people are able to get drugs in jail? Drug smugglers sometimes hide drugs in their rectums. Maybe that was it. Who knows? "Has Walsh done anything to prevent this in the future?" Well, they have taken some steps. What would you suggest they do further? Rectal probes of everyone who comes into the jail, to make sure nobody's stashing drugs where the proverbial sun doesn't shine? In fact, the only way to make absolutely sure no drugs get into the jail is with that and other gross violations of the rights of the people in the jail, that, if they were actually implemented, you would no doubt complain about at great length. "There are rumors that Larry had been crying and screaming before he was found collapsed. Should he have received medical attention earlier?" Oh, there are rumors? Well, why didn't you say so, that changes everything! I'm sure guys in jail would have no reason to just make stuff like that up about the guards. Maybe he should have received medical attention earlier. It's a litle hard to say, with the pretty scant amount of evidence here. "If Larry was acting paranoid and delusional, should he have received a mental health evaluation?" Well, that's an interesting question. They did the one when he first got there. What he cooperative? Did he refuse treatment? Your article doesn't really say.

more questions

Submitted by Brian Dolinar on May 16, 2007 - 7:34am.
Why would Larry have tried to swallow a bag of crack? Any crack head would know that simply swallowing a rock is going to give you a bad stomach ache. Was Larry hiding the bag in his mouth - maybe so. The bag may have had a small hole. But how was the bag split open enough for its contents to be released? And why would he then try to swallow the back and rock? Was there foul play involved? BD

"Why would Larry have tried

Submitted by Xander on May 16, 2007 - 11:07am.
"Why would Larry have tried to swallow a bag of crack? Any crack head would know that simply swallowing a rock is going to give you a bad stomach ache." To hide it from the guards, would be my guess. Or perhaps just to destroy the evidence if he was afraid of getting strip-searched later. Crackheads would probably know it's not a good idea, but I've seen reports that crackheads don't always act particularly rationally. Especially when they're already paranoid and delusional. For what it's worth, I've actually seen an episode of Cops where a guy swallowed some crack, and they had to get the guy to admit what he'd done and send him to the hospital. So it's not unheard-of. "Was Larry hiding the bag in his mouth - maybe so. The bag may have had a small hole. But how was the bag split open enough for its contents to be released?" He was using a cheap bag? This has to be the lamest conspiracy theory I've ever seen, if this is your evidence. "Was there foul play involved?" Probably not. Negligence? Possibly. But what are you really suggesting, that they went into his room, stuffed a ripped bag of crack in his mouth, and then forced him to swallow it? Why would they do that? Was this guy filming documentaries or something?

What happened to the response from Alexander to my post

Submitted by anonymous on May 16, 2007 - 8:00am.
I just wrote a lengthy response to Xander response and it just disappered, it said the comment i was replying to doesn't exist and that's a lie because I just read it

Hidden

Submitted by anonymous on May 16, 2007 - 8:15am.
Looks like it was hidden.

Was an autopsy performed?

Submitted by anonymous on May 16, 2007 - 9:10pm.
In reading the thread there seems to be no indication that an autopsy was performed to determine the cause of death. While a police detective is a trained professional it takes a forensic scientist to make that determination. Assuming that law enforcement did everything to safeguard the wellbeing of Larry and other inmates an autopsy could also prevent lawsuits from being filed on behalf of the estates of individuals who die while in custody. It looks to me that all we have is the testimony of a detective claiming that Larry overdosed on crack. Did anyone do a toxicology report to determine the presence of controlled substances? Did any of the ER physicians who treated him testify at the coroners inquest? I have to admit that I'm curious as to the procedures that were followed when this man died.

I asked the question about autopsies

Submitted by Marti Wilkinson on May 16, 2007 - 9:16pm.
had trouble logging in

Facts About Cocaine

Submitted by anonymous on May 16, 2007 - 10:12pm.
If it was powder coke, then the death could have been a result of cocaine intoxication. It's water soluble. If the bag contained crack cocaine, then the explanation that Mr. Larry died of cocaine intoxication doesn't really make sense. Crack is NOT water soluble and is not generally absorbed by the body, which is why it has to be smoked, instead of snorted. It would be good to know what the facts are, any lab tests done, and certainly an autopsy should have been ordered under the circumstances. I find it rather ironic that Xander, for all his trollishness, basically admits that the situation indicates that negligence by jail personnel seems plausible. We don't let jail inmates have guns or knives, so the fact that someone who has drugs on them in jail indicates incompetence on the part of the staff, if not the officers who brought him in. The reason given for putting people in jail who have a drug problem is to keep them from hurting themselves or others with drugs. Negligence, at a minimum, seems indicated, perhaps even ongoing mismanagement, considering all the other issues at the jail, including other deaths and torture. So Xander may quibble with BD's take on things, but he fundamentally offers no dispute with the facts BD cites to lead us to a legal conclusion other than that Champaign County Sheriff, who runs the jail, is liable for what happened to Mr. Larry. It makes no sense to belittle the character of the dead, given this damning conclusion.

Thanks.

Submitted by Xander on May 16, 2007 - 10:40pm.
I thought it was powder cocaine too, at first. That's how it was described in the original article. BD was the one who said it was crack, so I really don't know. If you look here you'll see where Brian originally said it was powder cocaine: http://lists.chambana.net/mailman/archive/peace/2006-July/005953.html Now he's saying it was crack. I don't know who to believe here, Brian or Brian. "I find it rather ironic that Xander, for all his trollishness, basically admits that the situation indicates that negligence by jail personnel seems plausible. We don't let jail inmates have guns or knives, so the fact that someone who has drugs on them in jail indicates incompetence on the part of the staff, if not the officers who brought him in." I said it was possible. And that was just for the fact that they may not have gotten him medical treatment in time. As far as negligence for allowing drugs into the jail, well, it depends on how well it was hidden on the way in. Like I said, there's a balance between conducting fool-proof searches and protecting the civil rights of the people in jail. I don't think it's necessarily "negligence" to not expose everyone entering the jail to, for example, rectal examinations. "he fundamentally offers no dispute with the facts BD cites to lead us to a legal conclusion other than that Champaign County Sheriff, who runs the jail, is liable for what happened to Mr. Larry." If a guy wants to swallow a bag of cocaine badly enough, I'm having a hard time seeing how the police are really going to be able to stop him. And, finally: "certainly an autopsy should have been ordered under the circumstances." Why? What would be the point, for the purposes of this discussion? Brian already seems to be asserting that the cops shoved the bag in his mouth and made him try to swallow it. If the autopsy turned up evidence that he'd overdosed on cocaine, he'd just take that as more evidence that he's right.

Coroner Northrup's report

Submitted by Brian Dolinar on May 17, 2007 - 6:12am.
Coroner Duane Northrup has been very forthcoming with information. He has been much more helpful than Sheriff Walsh. Northrup sent the body to Springfield for a full autopsy. In Larry's case, he was found to have high levels of cocaine toxicity in his bloodstream. As we know, powder cocaine is a white drug and crack a black drug. At the time of the coroner's inquest, the drug result had not been completed. But it is interesting to note the water solubiliity of hard v. soft. You can find my report on the coroner's inquest at: http://archive.ucimc.org/feature/display/137021/index.php Keep in mind, these are not just my theories. A coroner's jury recommended Walsh to better check ins. They said nothing about full body cavity searches, which I believe are inhumane. And obviously a lawyer has found enough evidence to warrant spending time and money on a legal suit. What about Larry's two children who were left without a father? Have we no heart for those who have drug addictions? BD

Wow!

Submitted by Xander on May 17, 2007 - 12:15pm.
"As we know, powder cocaine is a white drug and crack a black drug." I don't know if that's true or not, but I know that if I said something like that, I'd be called a racist for sure. I was a little confused as to why you would even bring this up, until I realized that you were probably trying to cast doubt on the fact that it was powder cocaine in the bag. Nice to know that racial stereotypes are considered admissable evidence in the court of the UCIMC. "A coroner's jury recommended Walsh to better check ins." Yes, they did recommend better searches. But the link you gave told us pretty much why he wasn't searched more closely. "A 20-minute mental health evaluation was conducted on Larry at 12:45 the afternoon of May 27. The nurse found that he had high blood pressure and was acting paranoid and delusional. Yet at that time, there was no indication that Larry was under the influence of drugs. Huckstep claimed that because of Larry’s actions, he was not 'dressed out' in processing – he remained in his street clothes rather than being given the usual jail garb" So, basically, because he was acting so erratically, they didn't want to approach him to make him take off his clothes and change into jail clothes. Most likely, this is because they were afraid he would react defensively, start a struggle, and then get hurt. Pretty humane, in my mind. If they HAD tried to change him while he was in this state of mind, and he HAD fought back and gotten hurt, you would have howled about THAT for god knows how long. So what do you want them to do? Tranquilize him? Is THAT more humane? "They said nothing about full body cavity searches, which I believe are inhumane." Well, then. Some drugs are still probably going to get into the jail, if people want to get them in badly enough. Something like this is probably going to happen again, and just like this time, it won't be the fault of the guards. "And obviously a lawyer has found enough evidence to warrant spending time and money on a legal suit." Is the lawyer taking the case for free? If not, I think the word you're looking for is "getting" money rather than "spending" it. "What about Larry's two children who were left without a father? Have we no heart for those who have drug addictions?" Well, sure. I don't see why having a heart for them means we ought to insinuate that the jail guards were involved in "foul play", as you put it.

Perhaps not foul play, but certainly possible negligence

Submitted by Marti Wilkinson on May 17, 2007 - 9:54pm.
The county jail has a responsibility towards the wellbeing of the inmates and this includes addicts. As such it is quite reasonable for Larry's estate to question what happened. In regards to the case itself because the toxicology reports indicate cocaine overdose then it would seem reasonable to presume that would be the official cause of death. Since the nurse who examined Larry found him to be paranoid and delusional then why wasn't he placed under some type of observation or taken to the 5th floor of Provena where he could have received the type of care needed to make sure that he wouldn't harm himself or anyone else? This particular case serves to highlight the disparity in how people are treated based on social, economic, and racial constructs. Combine that with the fact that the death rate in the Champaign County jail is higher than the national average is enough to bring about questions that need answering. I actually looked at an example of what the qualifications are to be a corrections officer in Champaign County and frankly it's pretty pathetic. Anyone with a high school diploma or a GED who has an understanding of police procedures can apply for a job at the county jail. It appears to me that having an education or training with some substance to it is not something that our current system is looking for and that is most unfortunate. Situations such as what happened to Mr. Larry and the use of tasers by individuals like Seargent Myers are perfect examples of why we need to raise the bar in how decisions are made regarding who can or cannot serve as an agent of law enforcement. Additionally having citizen review boards in regards to local law enforcement and the county jail can do much to build a healthy relationship between public servants and the community.

Hmm.

Submitted by Xander on May 17, 2007 - 11:08pm.
Actually, I think "almost certainly not foul play" is probably more accurate. Admit it, Brian's going off the deep end here. "Since the nurse who examined Larry found him to be paranoid and delusional then why wasn't he placed under some type of observation or taken to the 5th floor of Provena where he could have received the type of care needed to make sure that he wouldn't harm himself or anyone else?" THAT, at least, is a good point. I don't know what the protocol is for putting people in the fifth floor. I would imagine part of the criteria would be that the person appears to be a risk of harming himself or someone else, and there's no way of knowing, based on this report, whether or not he was. Remember, he probably wasn't even trying to hurt himself here. He was trying to hide his bag of cocaine from the guards. If he didn't present as a risk, then I'm not necessarily sure anyone has a right to make him undergo psychiatric treatment. Maybe they offered him psychiatric treatment and he refused it? It's really hard to say. "This particular case serves to highlight the disparity in how people are treated based on social, economic, and racial constructs." Really? How? Are you sure it's not just evidence of what happens if you get arrested for disorderly contact, trespassing and theft, and then decide to eat a bag of cocaine while you're in jail? He wasn't pulled over for DWB, his ex-girlfriend called the police when he refused to leave her apartment. While you may like to imagine he'd have received better treatment if he were white, I really don't see what evidence you have for it. Are you sure this isn't just sort of a knee-jerk "A black man died, so it musta been racism!" thing? "Combine that with the fact that the death rate in the Champaign County jail is higher than the national average is enough to bring about questions that need answering." Well, five in two years is probably above average, but it's such a small number that it's hard to say just how much it means. Particularly when one of them is a freak case like this. I'm not saying that there AREN'T problems with the Champaign county jail system. Just that this particular case is something different. "It appears to me that having an education or training with some substance to it is not something that our current system is looking for and that is most unfortunate." You're probably right about this. However, I'd be interested to know what kind of training the guards undergo after they get hired.

So what if the poor and

Submitted by anonymous on May 17, 2007 - 10:21pm.
So what if the poor and uneducated need a job? Apparently this one is out of reach for them. Not everyone has a bachelors degree. Don't you think you are setting the job qualifications a bit to high to be a jailer?

Already Enough Ignorance in Jail

Submitted by anonymous on May 17, 2007 - 11:14pm.
If you don't have a basic comprehension of the duties and responsibilities necessary to run a secure jail, as well as respecting the legal obligations placed on the sheriff in locking people up, while respected constitutional and human rights, then you should be flipping burgers instead of working in a jail. There's already enough ignorance in jail, without the employees contributing to it. From what we've seen so far, the public has no assurance that any thing's changed. If it was your son or daughter in jail, you wouldn't be so flippant and stupid in your remarks. It strikes me as odd that law enforcement can always find dope on black males when it suits their needs, but somehow can't keep dope out of the jail. To argue that we just have to accept that fact is to argue that the whole "drug war" thing is a crock of shit. It is, so why are we still locking up black folks so much, when more white people actually do dope? Why are we even locking up people for dope at all, especially if that doesn;t keep people from it? If there ever was a wasteful government jobs program that needed to be ended and the resources devoted to it redirected toward more productive uses, it's the "drug war" -- and did you ever notice how much it's a whole lot like the Iraq War? Dumb policies _lost_ and most of us would prefer something smarter be adopted in their place. Somehow, I think it's pandering politicians and their stupid ideas like fighting 40-year+ long wars that are obvious failures in order to get reelected that need some educational qualifications. Yeah, people may categorize certain types of dope as being "white" or "black" but the sentencing guidelines enshrined in law reinforce that far more than the cultural assumptions that BD noted. The federal sentencing commission has called for revisions from the current disparity in sentencing from 100 to 1 between equivalent weights of crack adn powder cocaine again this week. They've been doing this for 10 years. Some conservative even agreed with this, suggesting the disparity should be more like 20 to 1. God, some people are stupid -- and not all of them are jail guards. It's all coke and all kinds of people do all kinds of it. The damage the law itself causes is swept under the rug. Just like some people want to do with the death of Quentin Larry.

"If it was your son or

Submitted by Xander on May 18, 2007 - 12:08pm.
"If it was your son or daughter in jail, you wouldn't be so flippant and stupid in your remarks." Tell me where I'm being flippant or stupid. An example would be nice. The fact is, the guy put a bag of cocaine in his mouth and died. Tragic, I admit, but nobody's fault but his own. "It strikes me as odd that law enforcement can always find dope on black males when it suits their needs, but somehow can't keep dope out of the jail." Really. They can ALWAYS find drugs on black people when it suits their needs? If their goal is to lock up as many black people as they can, this would seem to indicate that the cops have found EVERY OUNCE of drugs possessed by EVERY black person in this city. That's a pretty bold statement there. They can't keep drugs out of schools or apartments or anywhere else, is it really any surprise they can't stop it in jail? What if, like I said yesterday, someone smuggles it into jail in a body cavity? I'm assuming you have no problem with everyone being subjected to a body cavity search upon entering jail then, right? If you DO have a problem with this, then I can tell you exactly how drugs would get into jails. "If there ever was a wasteful government jobs program that needed to be ended and the resources devoted to it redirected toward more productive uses, it's the "drug war" -- and did you ever notice how much it's a whole lot like the Iraq War? Dumb policies _lost_ and most of us would prefer something smarter be adopted in their place. Somehow, I think it's pandering politicians and their stupid ideas like fighting 40-year+ long wars that are obvious failures in order to get reelected that need some educational qualifications." No argument from me at all here. "Yeah, people may categorize certain types of dope as being "white" or "black" but the sentencing guidelines enshrined in law reinforce that far more than the cultural assumptions that BD noted. The federal sentencing commission has called for revisions from the current disparity in sentencing from 100 to 1 between equivalent weights of crack adn powder cocaine again this week. They've been doing this for 10 years. Some conservative even agreed with this, suggesting the disparity should be more like 20 to 1. God, some people are stupid -- and not all of them are jail guards. It's all coke and all kinds of people do all kinds of it. The damage the law itself causes is swept under the rug." I honestly don't know what this has to do with anything. Larry wasn't in jail for drugs at all, but for shoving his ex-girlfriend and stealing her keys. "Just like some people want to do with the death of Quentin Larry." Nice stinger. I don't know who wants to sweep anything under the rug, but it's catchy.

Hypocrisy

Submitted by anonymous on May 19, 2007 - 8:35am.
Xander wrote about the 'drug war": "No argument from me at all here." Is there any explanation then, besides hypocrisy, for Xander's impassioned defense of this corrupt legal system?

Impassioned defense, huh?

Submitted by Xander on May 19, 2007 - 11:18am.
What exactly am I defending here? The simple fact here is, Quentin Larry put a bag of cocaine in his mouth and died. That's all. His being placed in jail had NOTHING to do with the drug war. It had to do with him trespassing on his ex-girlfriend's property and stealing her keys (which, for what it's worth, is not the first time it happened. https://secure.jtsmith.com/clerk/7d3jawq1ag36.asp). So, he wasn't in jail for drugs. There's no evidence of physical force against him. Therefore, pointing out that Quentin Larry's death was an accident has nothing to do with the drug war OR the corrupt legal system. Just because the criminal justice system is corrupt doesn't mean that it's responsible for EVERYTHING. If I'm passionate about anything here, it's about people making stupid, and potentially libelous, charges against people with NO EVIDENCE AT ALL. BD claims there IS evidence. His mysterious silence when asked about it leads me to believe that he's not exactly telling the truth. Well, not even silence, really. If it was silence, I could believe he just hadn't read it yet. But no, he always comes back and always says something like: "There's evidence. They killed Larry. Think of the poor children. BD" That's actually worse than silence, because now we know he's deliberately not telling us. Even serial murderers don't kill EVERYONE they meet, nor are they responsible for every death in the city they live in. Just because I realize that Larry's death was an accident doesn't really mean I'm defending the justice system. Why is this so hard for you people to understand?

No Drug War?

Submitted by anonymous on May 19, 2007 - 12:59pm.
Then people would not feel the need to hide things like bags of coke. BTW, the bag was in his mouth. Accidental death due to cocaince intoxication is typically caused by _swallowing_ the bag, which then bursts or otherwise opens within the digestive tract. It's rather implausible for a person to die from sucking on a baggie in their mouth. Not saying it couldn't happen, but it ordinarily doesn't under such a scenario as described. Irregardless, the jail had custody of Mr. Larry and knew he was exhibiting strange behavior, behavior which seems linked to his death in some way. The failure to provide a secure environment or to render timely medical aid certainly could represent malfeasance, neglect, or possibly even criminal activity on the part of someone other than Mr. Larry. It's even possible that Mr. Larry snorted from the baggie of cocaine, after successfully eluding what were apparently inadequate security measures during prisoner intake. It would be embarrassing -- as well as representing grounds for a lawsuit on the part of R. Larry's survivors -- for such a thing to happen in the jail. It's even possible to conclude that having found Mr. Larry unconscious that someone might have stuck the baggie into his mouth, in a clumsy attempt to make it look more like suicide -- not that this would have absolved the sheriff's office from legal responsibility -- but sometimes people do make dumb decisions, especially if they realize they've already fucked up by allowing Mr. Larry continued access to the drugs he might have brought into jail with him. I won't call you an idiot, Xander, but you are at least as blinded by your own prejudices and assumptions as BD is by his.

Yes.

Submitted by Xander on May 19, 2007 - 3:10pm.
"Then people would not feel the need to hide things like bags of coke." Well, I suppose you're right about that. Keep in mind, it's BD and the others who agree with him who think that every possible step should be taken to keep drugs out of the jail. If BD had his way, Larry STILL would have felt the need to hide it. "Irregardless, the jail had custody of Mr. Larry and knew he was exhibiting strange behavior, behavior which seems linked to his death in some way. The failure to provide a secure environment or to render timely medical aid certainly could represent malfeasance, neglect, or possibly even criminal activity on the part of someone other than Mr. Larry." Yes. Negligence. Which I already stated was possible. Several times, in fact. What I'M talking about is BD's "excessive physical force" comments. And his "foul play" ones. You know, the ones he steadfastly refuses to give us the evidence for. And the ones that would seem to contradict the autopsy that was performed. "It's even possible to conclude that having found Mr. Larry unconscious that someone might have stuck the baggie into his mouth, in a clumsy attempt to make it look more like suicide -- not that this would have absolved the sheriff's office from legal responsibility -- but sometimes people do make dumb decisions" Did you even bother to read the link to the discussion about the autopsy results? I take it you didn't, so here is, in fact, what BD wrote about it earlier: "The conclusion of the coroner’s inquest was that Larry’s death was accidental, a heart attack that resulted from a high level of cocaine toxicity in his bloodstream. But the question remains as to how Larry was able to get drugs in the jail." High level of cocaine toxicity. So I'm guessing the bag wasn't put into his mouth after he died. But hey, making baseless accusations is fun, isn't it? "I won't call you an idiot, Xander, but you are at least as blinded by your own prejudices and assumptions as BD is by his." And what prejudices and assumptions would those be, if you don't mind me asking? It's "prejudice" not to jump to conclusions based on no evidence?

Where is the Deep End?

Submitted by Marti Wilkinson on May 18, 2007 - 11:50am.
***Admit it, Brian's going off the deep end here.*** Actually, I can do no such thing. Since the attorney's for Larry's estate did furnish BD with a copy of the complaint and the information he posted is based on actual legal documents I really can't fault him on his information. Now I'm sure the next question is how do I know that BD has the documentation and the answer is he brought it to the last CUCPJ meeting and he showed it to me. The documents did not make any reference (that I can recall) of an autopsy and that is why I did ask about that. ***Don't you think you are setting the job qualifications a bit to high to be a jailer?*** Nope, I did not say that a corrections officer has to have a BS or BA to be qualified. What I said is a high school diploma/GED is not sufficient. Parkland College offers an associates degree in criminal justice and citizens have the right to know what kind of vocational training or education is being received here. ***Are you sure this isn't just sort of a knee-jerk "A black man died, so it musta been racism!" thing*** Again the legal paperwork was very well thought out and professionally presented and having seen the actual documentation I would have to say no. I also did some research on Jude Redwood and she is not an ambulance chaser here. She has taken on several cases that have involved issues pertaining to civil rights. Oh well...time for me to go back to work. Peace!

'Kay

Submitted by Xander on May 18, 2007 - 12:06pm.
"Actually, I can do no such thing. Since the attorney's for Larry's estate did furnish BD with a copy of the complaint and the information he posted is based on actual legal documents I really can't fault him on his information. Now I'm sure the next question is how do I know that BD has the documentation and the answer is he brought it to the last CUCPJ meeting and he showed it to me." So what of his documentation gives ANY INDICATION AT ALL that there was "foul play" involved? Not negligence, but actual attempts at manslaughter. According to the autopsy results, there was apparently no evidence of blunt force trauma or any other trauma. So what kind of foul play would it have been? Did the police hand him a bag of cocaine and convince him it was a bag of crushed-up Smarties or something? Did they use mind control implants to make him swallow his bag of coke on purpose? I'm really wondering here. "The documents did not make any reference (that I can recall) of an autopsy and that is why I did ask about that." Well, then it would seem that his documentation wasn't really all that great, then, wouldn't it? I mean, that seems to be pretty much the most important piece of evidence. And he left that out? "I also did some research on Jude Redwood and she is not an ambulance chaser here. She has taken on several cases that have involved issues pertaining to civil rights." Did she take THEM on for free?

Jude Redwood, Live and In Concert!

Submitted by Xander on May 20, 2007 - 11:26pm.
Civil rights and what-have-you... For all you shoe-shine boys out there... http://www.classcaster.org/resserver.php?blogId=100&resource=redwood.pdf

Excessive physical force

Submitted by Brian Dolinar on May 18, 2007 - 12:41pm.
The civil suit allges "excessive physical force," suggesting foul play. You can look at it yourself at the federal courthouse. Jeremy Heath has a record of foul play. Just because Julia Rietz did not file charges against him doesn't mean it didn't happen. Michael Rich can testify that it did. BD

All right then.

Submitted by Xander on May 18, 2007 - 12:50pm.
Now we're getting somewhere. http://www.corrections.com/news/article?articleid=13123 This says there was no evidence of trauma. Was there? If so, why didn't you bother putting it into the article? Why didn't you say anything at all about any physical force at all? You just came in, made baseless allegations, and wandered off. So what evidence of physical force is there?

Call me crazy.

Submitted by Xander on May 19, 2007 - 12:05am.
But why am I not expecting a response from BD here?

Don't Feed the Trolls

Submitted by anonymous on May 19, 2007 - 8:31am.
Longtime users of the site tend to avoid feeding the trolls. It doesn't surprise me at all that BD is mostly ignoring your red herrings, strawmen, and non sequitirs.

You're an idiot.

Submitted by Xander on May 19, 2007 - 9:50am.
I hardly see how asking for evidence of his claims is a red herring, strawman, or non sequitir. Do you, in fact, know what those words even mean? They refer to statements, not questions.

Complaint

Submitted by Brian Dolinar on May 19, 2007 - 7:14am.
The claim of "excessive physical force" is made in the law suit, if you will re-read my article. You can call and ask the Redwood law office about the basis for their allegations. BD

Well, I could.

Submitted by Xander on May 19, 2007 - 9:49am.
I could, but I tend to be pretty busy during business hours. I have what they call a "full-time job", you see. That's also why I can't hang out at the courthouse all day. You've read all that stuff. Why don't you just TELL us what the basis is? See, if you did that, then everyone who reads this website would know all at once. We wouldn't have to keep individually calling the law office and bugging the people there. Why would you write a whole long article and leave it out, if the evidence is so good anyway?

What I Think Is Weird

Submitted by Xander on May 21, 2007 - 12:33am.
Since nobody has said much of anything all weekend, I will put up something I've noticed, having read this little thread. Nobody has come up with any evidence that Quentin Larry was killed by the police. You would think, wouldn't you, that this would be a happy event? One that brings relief to the community? You might think that the general feeling around here would be something like "Well, it's too bad that that guy died, but at least it wasn't another racist homicide!". But it's not. People around here seem to be really disappointed that Larry wasn't killed by the police. They even seem to get a little upset about it. But why? You'd think that, if they really cared about black people in jail, that they would be GLAD that this guy wasn't killed by the cops. On the other hand, if they were like professional activists, it makes perfect sense that they'd get mad about this, since it means that that's one less thing for them to get mad about, and thus derive feelings of superiority about. Just something to think about, you know.

Neglect Kills

Submitted by anonymous on May 21, 2007 - 8:06am.
Negligence kills just as surely as intent. It can result in a charge that is less than intentional homicide, but it's still criminal.

That's fine.

Submitted by Xander on May 21, 2007 - 11:55am.
What I'm talking about here is the claims that there was excessive physical force against Larry. Which is looking less and less likely to me with each passing hour. You know why? There's apparently no evidence for it. Like I said, you'd think people would be happy about that, wouldn't they? As for neglect. Well, it could be pointed out that Larry was an adult, and therefore has some responsibility for his OWN well-being. It could then be pointed out that if he hadn't stuffed the damn cocaine in his mouth, he'd still be with us today. This is the cops' fault, of course. Just like everything else.

Can you please give me an

Submitted by anonymous on May 21, 2007 - 11:46am.
Can you please give me an example of an exact criminal charge that would be based on negligence involving death please?

Second Degree Murder : "At

Submitted by anonymous on May 22, 2007 - 9:46am.
Second Degree Murder : "At the time of the killing he is acting under a sudden and intense passion resulting from serious provocation by the individual killed or another whom the offender endeavors to kill, but he negligently or accidentally causes the death of the individual killed" (720 ILCS 5/9-2 (1)) Of course, this charge is not brought about for purely negligent behavior, as both conditions must apply. A lot of charges are filed for criminally negligent behavior - however, criminal negligence is not exactly the same as negligence. In the case of Mr. Larry, the Sheriff's Office would certainly have committed a criminally negligent act had Mr. Larry been brought in on drug-related charges.

???????????

Submitted by anonymous on May 22, 2007 - 9:17pm.
you're way off base with this...that's all I'll say.

I don't think so - the

Submitted by anonymous on May 23, 2007 - 7:49am.
I don't think so - the poster asked for an exact charge that involved negligence and death, not an exact charge for this case. This charge satisfies both of those conditions.

I agree.

Submitted by Xander on May 23, 2007 - 11:45am.
This might fit under some sort of criminally negligent homicide thing if they knew he needed urgent medical treatment and denied it to him. So far, I haven't seen much evidence for that, and I doubt we will unless BD comes back from wherever he's gone off too. To me, it seems a little unlikely. Because they were able to revive him with CPR, my guess would be that he wasn't lying there for that long.

What exactly is "a lot of

Submitted by anonymous on May 22, 2007 - 9:18pm.
What exactly is "a lot of charges?" Please give some examples of criminally negligent behavior please.

Lonely, Desparate

Submitted by anonymous on May 22, 2007 - 10:02pm.
Trolls.

Do you know how stupid you

Submitted by anonymous on May 23, 2007 - 9:25pm.
Do you know how stupid you sound when the only thing you can say is to make some stupid comment about trolls? That gets sooooo old.

Yeah.

Submitted by anonymous on May 23, 2007 - 9:39pm.
It does get old, just like it gets old when trolls condemn the opinions of other, claim to have facts, and then just offer their own even more biased set of facts. Quit boring us and go back to Icky Pundit.

In all fairness...

Submitted by Xander on May 23, 2007 - 10:47pm.
I don't see why he/she WOULDN'T go to IP. Pretty much everyone else already has, it seems. The "quit boring us" isn't entirely fair, though. If you hadn't noticed, there's nothing else going on. This place is a ghost town. Really, until someone goes ahead and actually goes to the trouble to write a new article or something, there's really not much else to do but sit around calling each other trolls. So, carry on, I guess.

Don't Let the Door Hit You in the Ass, Xander

Submitted by anonymous on May 23, 2007 - 11:43pm.
Or you'll just reinforce the belief that you, most of all, are just here to troll. This place gets slow sometimes. Judging it by who is willing to talk to the trolls is about like judging the American's people's disgust with Iraq by the Democrats willingness to cave in on mandatory benchmarks of progress or deadlines.

I have no idea what the hell you're talking about.

Submitted by Xander on May 24, 2007 - 12:14am.
I really don't. "Judging it by who is willing to talk to the trolls is about like judging the American's people's disgust with Iraq by the Democrats willingness to cave in on mandatory benchmarks of progress or deadlines." Read that sentence and tell me it makes sense, or what it has to do with anything. Go on. I dare you. You know, at LEAST I'm discussing the issues at hand here. I'm one of the few. Are you? I've been here for like a week. And I've been asking BD what evidence he has for his "foul play" comments. What are you doing? Just sitting there, calling me a troll. Have fun with that. And what do you mean, "sometimes"? There were ten articles posted in the last two months on this site, half of which got fewer than ten comments. The only ones that DID get more were when people like me showed up and pointed out the problems with what the writers said. Half of the articles were also written by one white college teacher. So where are the oppressed and dispossessed masses, who are supposed to be flocking to the ONE place on the internet where they've got a forum for their views? Either they really don't exist, or they just don't care too much about this website. If either one is the case, then I ask you, what is really the point? For what it's worth, I'm not even signed up on IP. It's just better than this site, is all.

So

Submitted by anonymous on May 24, 2007 - 12:30am.
You obviously REALLY are just hanging out here to tell us how much you think we suck. BTW, if you are"not even signed up on IP" it's only because you're "unsigned up." A number of people told me how you and wayward were having a love-in about each other's "work" over there, so I had to go see it myself: http://www.illinipundit.com/2007/04/27/patrick-thompson-discussion#comments For all your whining about BD, you've never really offered any real evidence that disproves his basic contention that race results in greatly disparate outcomes in Champaign County. Nor has he ever claimed that was all there was to it, just that race is a statistically accurate predictor. If you're African-American in Champaign County, you should do you best to avoid getting involved with law enforcement at any level, it's unlikely to do you any good. You waffle around the edges about the way he says things, but nothing I've seen you write undermines what BD has observed about the way "justice" works in Champaign County. I know it irritates you when he asks, 'What should be done?" but I think his expectations, along with most readers here, are a lot more than the NOTHING that you continue to prescribe. Thou dost protests too much to be anything other than a troll.

Wow.

Submitted by Xander on May 24, 2007 - 1:20am.
"A number of people told me how you and wayward were having a love-in about each other's "work" over there, so I had to go see it myself: http://www.illinipundit.com/2007/04/27/patrick-thompson-discussion#comments" If that is really true, then I know a number of people who need to get lives. "You waffle around the edges about the way he says things, but nothing I've seen you write undermines what BD has observed about the way 'justice' works in Champaign County." This is because you're not paying attention. BD claims that Quentin Larry was the victim of foul play. He wasn't. I asked him for evidence, and right now, he's apparently off in some corner sulking somewhere. Go ahead. Look up in the past comments if you don't believe me. I ask him, he says something pointless, and doesn't give the evidence he claims he has. "I know it irritates you when he asks, 'What should be done?" but I think his expectations, along with most readers here, are a lot more than the NOTHING that you continue to prescribe." I didn't say that nothing should be done. I think people should be informed that you'll probably die if you eat bags of cocaine. Perhaps schoolchildren should be shown a puppet show about what happens when you eat cocaine, or shown a cartoon about Carl, the Cocaine-Swallowing Capybara. If it seems flippant, it's because you don't seem to have even responded to anything I've said on this thread. Interesting you should mention wayward, though. She wrote a whole long article about race in Champaign County, and the arrests based on it. So far, she's the only one who bothered to put up any actual statistics here. Then she got purged. And yet, I guess it's ME who doesn't want to deal with the facts here. Whatever. "Thou dost protests too much to be anything other than a troll." Well, at least I've signed up a user name.

2nd degree murder doesn't fit

Submitted by anonymous on May 22, 2007 - 10:17pm.
2nd degree doesn't fit. He wasn't killed by another...

Please, don't confuse us

Submitted by anonymous on May 23, 2007 - 9:26pm.
Please, don't confuse us with facts.

A few comments

Submitted by anonymous on May 24, 2007 - 3:52pm.
So far, some key evidence in this case is ambivalent or lacking. I have the following questions and/or concerns: 1) Larry Quentin was found unconscious with a bag of cocaine in this mouth about 17 hours after he was admitted to jail. The cocaine could have been smuggled into jail by Larry during the admission process, or he could have acquired it from someone else AFTER he was admitted to jail. It isn't clear which of these two possibilities actually happened. 2) Like amphetamines, cocaine is a stimulating drug that affects the dopamine neurotransmitter system in the brain. Presumably, Larry's fatal illness was brought about by the cocaine overdose. However, the overdose symptoms of such drugs are rather dramatic and difficult to ignore. Possible symptoms include: severe insomnia, restlessness and pacing about, high blood pressure, stroke, psychosis, aggressive behavior, heart failure, convulsions, jerking limbs from loss of motor control, etc. Did Larry display any of these symptoms of overdose? So far, only high blood pressure and psychotic symptoms have been mentioned. However, it's possible that he exhibited other symptoms as well before he passed out. 3) Did Larry ever request to be seen by doctor or be taken to the hospital? Normally, when a person overdoses on a stimulating drug like cocaine, they feel unwell and often show up at the emergency room. If Larry made such a request to jail personnel and nothing was done, this would be an indication of negligence on their part. Again, the evidence that has been presented about this is unclear. 4) Simply stating that a person died from a "drug overdose" is uninformative. Drugs kill people when they impair one or more of the vital organs in the body. Thus, the cause of death could have heart failure, stroke, inability to breathe, etc. If the coroner's report failed to explain how the drug overdose caused Larry's death, then it was deficient in this respect. jh

This will answer some of your questions.

Submitted by anonymous on May 25, 2007 - 4:47am.
http://www.corrections.com/news/article?articleid=13123

The Operative Word Is "Some"

Submitted by anonymous on May 25, 2007 - 9:44am.
Most News-Gazette stories leave more questions unanswered than they answer. News-Gazette reporting usually is limited to repeating official views and reports. It tends to feature hero-worship of the forces of repression and gives little attention to civil and human rights. The blinders that News-Gazette reporters wear are part of the reason why conditions in the jail got so bad in the first place. Indymedia is for those who've gotten past the gullible phase of relying in the News-Gazette for their news.

Well...

Submitted by Xander on May 25, 2007 - 5:28pm.
Well, at least it IS news. I mean, it's still better than nothing, which is about how much BD told us in his little essay. He's the "investigative journalist" around here. If he found something to contradict that, why didn't he tell us?

Incidentally

Submitted by Xander on May 25, 2007 - 5:38pm.
One way of reading this story is as a triumph of the police in accepting his human rights. I mean, it was his bag of cocaine, right? And his mouth. If he wants to stick HIS bag of cocaine in HIS mouth, as long as he's not hurting anyone else, isn't it HIS right to do so if he wants? If the cops had done more to stop him, you could argue that that's repressing his right of self-ownership. So it sounds like your problem with this is that the cops weren't repressive enough. A fine sentiment for the UCIMC...

Seems pretty factual to me.

Submitted by anonymous on May 25, 2007 - 1:14pm.
Here's the text of the article. Seems factual and straightforward to me. Which part of it features hero-worship of the forces of repression? ----------------------------------------------------------------- URBANA, IL – Preliminary autopsy results show a Champaign County Jail inmate who died over the weekend suffered a heart attack. An autopsy done in Bloomington on Tuesday indicates Quentin Larry, 36, who listed an address in the 1500 block of Hedge Road, C, had a cardiac infarction or deadening of part of the heart, Coroner Duane Northrup said this morning. "It appears he had some type of cardiac event," Northrup said. "We ruled out blunt force or sharp force trauma. We ruled out all other trauma. There were no signs of foul play." Preliminary autopsy results also showed that Mr. Larry had pre-existing heart conditions, including an enlarged heart and high blood pressure, the coroner said. Samples are being sent to a laboratory for toxicology study to determine whether there were any drugs in his system, Northrup said. Drug use can cause or contribute to heart failure, he said. Mr. Larry was being held at the Champaign County satellite jail on charges of disorderly conduct, trespass and theft, according to the sheriff's office. He was arrested by Urbana police in the 1700 block of East Colorado Avenue about 3:20 a.m. Saturday. According to Urbana police Lt. Michael Metzler, officers had been called to a domestic disturbance that morning. Mr. Larry had refused to leave an apartment of his ex-girlfriend, took her keys and pushed her, the lieutenant said. Officers found him in the area of the complex and arrested him, he said. The coroner said it was reported to his office that Mr. Larry was found unconscious in his cell at 9:11 p.m. Saturday. Medical records given to the coroner's office in his investigation indicate Mr. Larry had a white powder and a plastic packet with more white powder in his mouth, Northrup said. Mr. Larry was pronounced dead at 6:10 a.m. Sunday at the Carle Foundation Hospital intensive care unit, he said. The death is being investigated by the Champaign Police Department.

The forces of repression

Submitted by Xander on May 25, 2007 - 5:27pm.
I think this is what anonymous was referring to as "the forces of repression". "Mr. Larry had refused to leave an apartment of his ex-girlfriend, took her keys and pushed her, the lieutenant said. Officers found him in the area of the complex and arrested him, he said." Because Larry was black, the police decided to repress his inalienable right to shove people and steal their keys. It's even possible that Larry's ex-girlfriend was a racist white cop, and THAT'S why she called the other cops on him. The News-Gazette doesn't tell us she WASN'T, so that's one of the questions the article leaves unanswered.

Investigations into jail suicides in Massachusettes

Submitted by Brian Dolinar on May 28, 2007 - 10:35am.
I just got back from visiting with fellow IMCstas in Boston, who told me about state hearings and an independent investigation into the rise of jail suicides in Massachusettes. According to one source: Ten inmates killed themselves in state prisons in 2005 and 2006. Another prisoner was left brain dead by a suicide attempt. Five of the 11 inmates had recently been on suicide watches, and six had documented histories of mental health problems. Jail suicides are a nation-wide trend. As is the expanding IMC network. For more see: http://boston.indymedia.org/feature/display/199380/index.php BD

Some trend.

Submitted by anonymous on May 28, 2007 - 10:54am.
http://www.ojp.gov/bjs/pub/press/shspljpr.htm

And while we're still on the subject...

Submitted by anonymous on May 28, 2007 - 11:10am.
The first link said that, in 2002, there were about 47 suicides per 100,000 inmates in jails. This one: http://www.who.int/mental_health/prevention/suicide_rates/en/index.html points out that, in the US as a whole, the suicide rate among men is approximately 18 per 100,000. Considering that a lot of people in jail are looking at the possibility of an extended prison term, a two-and-a-half-times jump is hardly unexpected.

Racism of Trolls "hardly unexpected"

Submitted by ML1 on May 28, 2007 - 6:01pm.
The latent racism that some of the trolls here exude is really nasty. They couldn't care less about the incarcerated, because, heck, they only die of suicide at a rate more than twice the average. No, it's not unsurprising that jail inmates might have higher rates of suicidal ideation. What is rather shocking is that, in such a closely supervised setting and with this well-known fact to guide their planning and procedures, so many more inmates in Champaign County are allowed to carry through and act on their disturbed impulses. It should be relatively hard to kill your self in jail. Jail inmates are not supposed to have guns, knives, cars, liquor, drugs... Oh, that's right, in a _well-managed_ jail, all that might be true. Champaign County does not have a well-managed jail. Instead, it's managed by those who share the same dismissive attitude as the trolls here. The Champaign County states' attorney is more interested in covering up the crimes and incompetence at the jail, than she is in getting to the bottom of things. She should be making certain that incompetence and disregard for basic human rights are dealt with expeditiously and strictly, so that jail personnel are on notice that they must live up to their duties and responsibilities -- or face the same consequences as the rest of us if we're fuckups on our job and hurt people.

Well...

Submitted by anonymous on May 28, 2007 - 6:32pm.
Well, considering that the number was cut by two-thirds in the past twenty years, you might suppose they were doing something right. And as far as "racism" goes: "During the three-year period from 2000 through 2002, white jail inmates were six times more likely to commit suicide than black inmates and more than three times more likely than Hispanic inmates." But, go ahead. Just keep calling everyone who disagrees with you a racist. It's so much easier than actually, like, having a thought or something. Dumbass.

I take it that Dumbass is

Submitted by ML1 on May 28, 2007 - 7:27pm.
I take it that Dumbass is your name, since that is how you signed yourself off as. Dumbass wrote: "Well, considering that the number was cut by two-thirds in the past twenty years, you might suppose they were doing something right." People do wonder why the Champaign County jail is such an exception to that trend. Dumbass blunders on: "And as far as "racism" goes: "'During the three-year period from 2000 through 2002, white jail inmates were six times more likely to commit suicide than black inmates and more than three times more likely than Hispanic inmates.'" Once again, Dumbass lives by the stats (because without a heart, maybe all you have left is a brain? sounds a little Oz-ish, but troll do seem to live in an alternate reality) and dies by the stats. Champaign County seems to defy the statistical "normality" of other places of incarceration. But normal is only relative when some incompetents at the jail let your son kill himself. Dumbass blunders on: "But, go ahead. Just keep calling everyone who disagrees with you a racist. It's so much easier than actually, like, having a thought or something." I'm sure there are people who disagree with me on a variety of things and they're not racists. But it's pretty hard not to see what the general motivations are of those obsessed with attempting to silence the voices of African-Americans in our community. In fact, the statistically significant frequency of their commentary on al;most ANY other subject suggests that there's something about the news written here about African-Americans that really gets under the skin of trolls. I grew up in the Sixties and have lived to see the various permutations that racists have gone through as they vainly try to cling to social respectability they once had to give up the pointy hoods and even David Duke got too hot to pass off on the complacent majority. Even they know that being called on being a racist is not exactly a good career move, even if white privilege remains a powerful social force, protecting many of the neo-racists smart enough to keep their real feelings hidden until they surface on the internet e as the morally corrupt people they really are on the internet. Anyone so obsessed with UC IMC coverage about African-American men, both on the street exercising their civil rights and as prisoners of the local legal system, so as to demonstrate through their repetitive and rather unimaginative trollage here definitely fits my definition of racist. It's obvious from your comments that anyone who is black, male, a prisoner, or suicidal is beneath your dignity to care about. That's _racism_.

ML's hilarious misstatements "hardly unexpected"

Submitted by anonymous on May 28, 2007 - 6:44pm.
"It should be relatively hard to kill your self in jail. Jail inmates are not supposed to have guns, knives, cars, liquor, drugs.." Go on, Mikey. I defy you to find an example of someone smuggling a car into the Champaign County Jail. Or any other jail, for that matter. Don't a lot of people in jail kill themselves by strangling themselves with an article of their own clothing? Maybe that's what we ought to do. Strip all jailbirds naked when they come in. Granted, that might be another gross violation of the civil rights of all the NONsuicidal people in jail, but nuts to that! We have to protect the five or six people who are determined to kill themselves from doing so. At all costs! Anything else is flat-out racism!

Unless the Jail Comes Under Competent, Humane Management

Submitted by ML1 on May 28, 2007 - 7:56pm.
The only question will eventually be " How big a car?" Since I can hear the echoing screeches of the same troll vulture kin this thread, I won't waste time calling you on your moral corruprtion. It's already clear you are very much a part of the problem here -- whether you're a jail guard, the sheriff, other local police, conservative citizen dio-gooder-by-screwing-people-who-don't-look-like-me, etc -- and not part of a solution. Many programs for self-improvement suggests admitting to your self that you have a problem. Otherwise, you self-enabling behavior simply sucks you down and those around you suffer. This is especially dangerous, considering many of you are armed and have life-and-death repsonsibilities over many of our children, friends, neighbors. We don't want to see them hurt through your own self-deception, so we do have the possibility of an election cleaning house. In the meantime, if you do get over your denial, there is plenty of professional help available: http://suicideandmentalhealthassociationinternational.org/preventionpris... http://www.nicic.org/Library/012475 http://www.who.int/mental_health/media/en/60.pdf http://www.johnhoward.ab.ca/PUB/C41.htm http://www.ncianet.org/suicideprevention/index.asp http://www.howardleague.org/index.php?id=suicideprevention http://www.psycom.net/depression.central.suicide.html http://jcx.sagepub.com/cgi/content/short/3/1/5 http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/publications/allpubs/SMA01-3517/reference... http://www.suicidereferencelibrary.com/test4~id~1440.php The last citation might be one that even the head-in-the-sanders in Champaign County can get their mind around. The current incompetent status of training in suicide prevention locally is going to cost the taxpayers plenty. Even if you don't give a damn about those involved, as many of your comments seems to indicate, well then a rather large hunk out of the taxpayer's wallet is not going to make them happy about how those charged with carrying out these responsibilities have been doing. No wonder you're hoping for nothing more than friendly News-Gazette-style coverage of such incidents and its no wonder you've got you panties in a wad over anyone else who would dare to question the official story. No, I don't think it is necessary to further violate the rights of prisoners to prevent suicide among prisoners. I realize that to those like you who have only one tool for dealing with people -- a hammer -- then every problem may look like a nail. If the stupidly of such thinking on your part does not immediately become self-evident, leading you to embrace more thoughtful approaches, then you really are in the wrong line of work. The public doesn't need you to protect it, they need to be protected from you.

its no wonder you've got you

Submitted by anonymous on May 28, 2007 - 8:30pm.
its no wonder you've got you panties in a wad over anyone else who would dare to question the official story Why do you get your panties in a wad when someone dares to question the unofficial story, or support the official story?

I Don't

Submitted by ML1 on May 28, 2007 - 9:05pm.
The level of the criticism asscoiated with BD's stories is surpringly limited, considering the obvious emotion involved in putting it forward so consistently, regularly, obsessively, even to the opoint that one academic I talked with about it indicated the whole thing showed marks of festishization; that's a little weird for me, but it does make you wonder if such people have time for normal relationships. Mostly, it amounts to a tempest in a teapot, with BD's critics insisting on his multifarious evils because they don't like the way he's said something. The one thing they've never manage to do is refute his primary hypothesis, which is that the Champaign County justice system yields very different outcomes depending on the race and class of those involved. Honest critics who want to see BD do better work -- and it has improved substantially in recent months, although I know that makes no difference to his dishonest critics -- have seen better work. Somehow, the far more numerous ones who insists that BD has it all wrong -- when he clearly has better than 90% of it right -- are impassioned, persistent, shallow, and ultimately laughable, as they repeatedly find their underwear in disarray, blame BD for it, instead of their own twitching buttocks -- and then they run right back here to tell us all in no uncertain terms how verklempt BD makes them. Pity you guys don't get out much. There's a big wide world beyond trolling Indymedia.

"Somehow, the far more

Submitted by anonymous on May 31, 2007 - 10:18am.
"Somehow, the far more numerous ones who insists that BD has it all wrong -- when he clearly has better than 90% of it right..." ML – May 28, 2007 – 9:05pm Isn't a "journalist" supposed to get things 100% right? I was under the assumption that they were supposed to accurately report things all the time, not most of the time... My personal opinion is the BD does probably give it straight most of the time, but when he doesn't he is outright lying or twisting the fact to make them fit his theory. Either way that isn't good investigative journalism. Here is a little tip to keep it honest - make your theory fit the facts, not make the facts fit your theory.

Don't forget.

Submitted by anonymous on May 31, 2007 - 11:45am.
Don't forget the leaving out essential facts (for example, autopsy reports, evidence of physical force or the lack thereof) and then making insinuations about things, as though you don't realize those facts are out there.

Makin complaint about Prison Gruad of philadelphia

Submitted by anonymous on October 13, 2009 - 10:02pm.

I'm tryin to get in contact with the preson that in charge of the prison my brother in cfcf in the hole for gettin jump not gettin feed also the gruad treatin him like shit I wanted to know have do I go by switchin his prison my brother is lossin weight as the day go by wonder when god goin to reach out and grab his hand. 

My email al.richard9992@yahoo.com Thank You

Everyday its seem like I'm losin a soilder day by day it seen like I'm lock up cause I'm stressed out everyday not knowin if my brother dead or alive or lock down in the hole for weeks knowin that he not goin to be there for his daugther first birthday it seem like all his pain rushin me inside but I pray everyday that everything goin to be OK. when the time come hopefully GOD we let me know.

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