Losing Faith in the Judicial System

Well in Cook County some of the current and former “guests” there (like myself) will tell you sometimes it’s hard to tell who is worse-the inmates or the guards!

At the time I was there the jail was under lockdown because 3 inmates managed to escape (and embarrass the Cook County Sheriff’s Department as whole) at the same time. So naturally, they were ill-tempered and took their frustrations out on some of the prisoners. As I previously mentioned,I was party in a federal class action lawsuit against the jail and the sheriff’s department because they violated their own protocols for processing inmates. In particular,all of the inmates were forced to strip down to their birthday suits for contraband search. The problem is, that particular search is supposed to be done for persons charged with FELONIES! At the time I was there I was in for a MISDEMEANOR traffic warrant(which again,violated their own protocol). The case was settled out of court the day BEFORE it was scheduled to go to trial-by JURY. They didn’t have a choice- the jury was going to rake the sheriff’s department over the coals for what they did and there were plenty of plaintiffs (myself included had they required me) more than willing to testify in court their experience.
It may not be as bad some more hard core prisons but it sure ain’t a Holiday Inn Express neither.
Just ask R.Kelly!

 

Well,the warrant was out of DuPage County. I was arrested by Chicago PD and they transferred me to Cook County and I was held there until I was extradited to DuPage County. The same day I was extradited I was bailed out.

Mind you this was back in 2005/2006,long before I became a truck driver. Back then I was in very rough financial and legal shape. Not to mention it took an emotional toll.

When I was notified by mail by attorneys about the class action lawsuit about 2 1/2- 3 years later
two words came to mind when I heard that Cook County Jail and the Sheriff’s Department was being sued:
“Vengeance” and “Wrath of God”!!
(I don’t forget a slight)

 

My story in a nutshell explains my feelings on all of this if anyone cares.

1985-1989 lived with and dealt with and visited my Bro in a insane asylum. He was paranoid schizophrenic. Met and hung with TONS of lunes. I never killed one.

1989-1994. Moved from cow town into the hood of Cleveland to go to Cleveland State to wrestle and majored in criminal justice/social work. Had no car used busses and trains. Met tons more lunes never killed one.

1994 to 1999 Cuyahoga County Sheriffs department 6th floor (psych) and 9th floor (hardcore bad guys). Got stabbed with a sharpened toothbrush and urine thrown in my face (many more stories too). I did not want to kill them and I did not.

Saying county jail is not prison is silly. County jail (at least in a big'ish city) had PLENTY of very bad guys that knew they were going to prison (after sentencing) and had nothing to lose.

I'm done here. That dude murdered a loud mouth loon for merely being a loud mouth loon.

You can call in manslaughter I call it murder.

 

I was involved in this situation. Mo sent a lot of Inmates to Texas and this was something else. I did 16 months down in two different places. One was Chrystal City TX and the other was Brazoria County. The little article does not do it real justice, we was used for training for riots for the goon squad. Everything was to the extreme to say the least. I think I was paid like 3 or so bucks a day I was in custody in Texas or something like that. It was basically a joke settlement except for the lawyers.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/arch...inmates/8faf698e-01e1-47bf-bef5-2565ed3f02cd/

 

In my case Cook County had to cough up $60 million and had to look as happy as they could!
They were literally less than 24 hours from having a jury decide their fate! They were desperate!
The 1st check they sent me was about $300 dollars. A couple of years later they sent me another check for about $600 dollars.
$60 Million in Strip Search Settlements for Cook County Jail Prisoners

 

Well sorry you are having a hard time understanding what charges mean. He killed someone and that is what he did. They charge people with a crime and that crime was manslaughter not Murder. They carry a big difference in time but hey who really cares about details.

If never been in prison I can see why a person would feel that way. Jail most people are worried about what kind of time they are gonna get and around street people. In prisons it depends on the type of camps you go to. Some are kiddy camps and some are more treatment type places. Some will be easier than jail and some will make you think jail is the Hiltons. It really depends on the the level you go to but in my experience jail was like the Hilton compared to some of the prisons I was in.

 

It is.

One of my college classmates is a public defender in the Champaign, IL area. She regularly had clients sit in jail for longer than the maximum sentence because they could not arrange bail. She had one kid charged with drunken disorderly misdemeanor spend 45 days in jail because he couldn't come up with $1,000 bail. Maximum fine was something like $500 and 30 days. Bail was designed as a way to ensure someone would show back up for court. There are better ways to do that now.