These are comments written and delivered by Sheila Stocks-Smith to the Sangamon County Board during the board's meeting at the BoS Center Aug. 13.
For decades I have been concerned about questionable tactics and inmate deaths at the Sangamon County Jail. A brief overview:
Amon Paul Carlock, age 57, who died in 2007, had severe, escalating and untreated health problems while in custody. He died after being tased and sat on by a 275-pound guard while being held face down. The final toxicology results showed renal failure and toxic levels of lithium in his system – a drug prescribed to him while in jail. The family ultimately received a $2.6 million settlement with a total $5.3 million expense paid by Sangamon County taxpayers.
Tiffany Rusher, 27, died in the jail in 2007. She was a severely mentally ill woman with a long history of self-harm and erratic behavior. She spent four months alone in a small cell at the Sangamon County Jail. She was given no mental health treatment during that time, except for being on watch. She killed herself with a torn piece of towel which had been given to her by jail guards.
Bobby Ray, 38, collapsed and died in the jail in 2007. Coroner Susan Boone said the death was natural. Ray was a heavy drinker, and his family says the jail should have provided medication to ease his withdrawal from alcohol.
Maurice Burris, 50, died in 2007, eight days after he went into cardiac arrest at the Sangamon County Jail. According to a federal lawsuit, Burris started having severe stomach pains and vomited repeatedly for three days. He collapsed, went into cardiac arrest and was taken to the hospital where he died eight days later.
Patrick Burns, who was 50, died in 2010, five days after a struggle with four sheriff's deputies. He had a history of drug use and bipolar disorder. Coroner Boone decided that Burns had died from excited delirium, but that cause of death was ultimately stricken from his death certificate. The certificate now says that Burns, who had been hogtied and placed on his stomach, died from asphyxiation. Deputies deployed Tasers on him more than 20 times. His brother settled the case for $40,000.
Alonzo Travis, 54, died in 2012 at the hospital after being found unresponsive in his Sangamon County Jail cell.
Jaimeson Cody, 39, died in April 2021. Illinois State Police investigators found that Cody was struck with a Taser after refusing health checks and attempts to handcuff him. According to the coroner's report, a correctional officer used his weight to apply pressure to Cody's back as he was in a prone position on the jail floor. The Sangamon County State's Attorney did not press criminal charges.
Dylan Schlieper-Clark died in the jail in 2022. The cause was listed as natural causes after falling ill in jail. He was 23 years old. A preliminary autopsy showed no sign of trauma. It appears a lawsuit was filed by the family.
Sonya Massey, 36, July 6, 2024, was murdered by a Sangamon County deputy.
While I acknowledge that the cases I outlined above are complex and that the staff at the Sangamon County Jail often have a difficult job, there seems to be a disturbing pattern of questionable conduct here.
I signed the letter calling for Sheriff Jack Campbell to resign and I'm glad he has done the right thing. But I hope the Department of Justice looks deeper into this flawed system and that county officials will embrace multilevel reforms regardless of cost.
There is no turning back. Justice for Sonya and all the others demand better from the systems we rely on to protect us.
Sheila Stocks-Smith is a longtime community and political activist in Springfield. She is currently the president/founder of the Urban Action Network (UAct). For more info on UAct visit www.urbanactionnetwork.org.
