The Feds Release Report Stating Illinois County Jail Violated Constitutional Rights

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The Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice released a scathing 98-page report a few days ago against the Cook County Jail in Illinois. What it revealed was an epic history of abusive behaviour and withheld medical care resulting in death as well as unsanitary living conditions and poor structural conditions.

For a year and a half, federal investigators uncovered how the maltreatment of prisoners was commonplace in the nation's largest county jail where around 9,800 inmates are currently awaiting trial.

The report showed how in the first few months of 2008, several inmates took their own lives, and how others died in the facility due to the refusal or lack of appropriate medical care. Some inmates were refused their mental health meds while others were given medications but no record of why. Two years ago, an inmate at the facility lost his leg to an infection due to appropriate medical treatment.

In one instance of blatant refusal of care, a woman at the facility with a known disease complained of shortness of breath, showed an abnormal X-Ray and received no further treatment. She died.

However, the worst finding, according to news reports:

Perhaps most remarkable about the federal findings was the comprehensive scope of the critique; almost no element of the jail seemed to meet muster. Investigators pointed to poor supervision of inmates, the presence of weapons, mistreatment of inmates, unsatisfactory dental, mental health and medical care, electrical hazards, plumbing problems and ventilation failings.

Abuse, refusal of care, dilapidated facilities, the report covers a broad spectrum of conditions that fail to meet the basic Constitutional rights. These aren't convicted criminals. These are pre-trial individuals who cannot make bail for whatever reason, some financial. it is a holding cell for many.

The sheriff's office responsible for the treatment of those in the facility called the language in the report "inflammatory" saying it "draws conclusions based on anecdotes and hearsay from inmates." They clearly were displeased with the year plus comprehensive assessment of their treatment of prisoners.

So is drawn, that fine line between a convicted child molester or murderer who even still gets better treatment in a federal facility than what has been reported by the Department of Justice and those awaiting their trials or are serving out a 30-day sentence for bad check writing in the county.

Is there a greater level of abuse on a county level when it comes to dealing with "potential" criminals? Is there more profiling or agenda driven motivation in the treatment of those being questioned?

The answer to that question is not one that can be answered directly but cases can be revealed where perceived excessive force, also known to the lay-person as abuse, was used in dealing with situations.

In February of this year, a Florida woman was pulled over and taken into custody for a possible DUI. A Sheriff's deputy twisted the woman's arm so hard that he broke it, snapping the bone in two. She hadn't been charged with anything. The woman was later charged with wreckless driving but had a broken arm.

In March, several citizens in Houston, Texas filed a civil rights suit against the local Sheriff's Office for blatant abuse on multiple accounts. One was a store owner who called 911 when his business was robbed. The police threw him to the ground and cuffed him as he grabbed his ID. Another case was when two citizens video taped officers making an arrest were arrested themselves. The county settled a lawsuit over the arrests but the two joined in the civil law suit after it was revealed that Sheriff's office had been spying on them.

A simple search of documents results in enough information on abuse in county offices but the reason "why" continues to be a question to its existence. Is it the power or control that they have? It matters not.

Abuse is abuse.