Lawsuits Challenge Illinois' Parole Revocation Process
From the Chicago Tribune
Three class-action lawsuits are challenging how the state revokes parole for thousands of ex-cons each year, a process the plaintiffs' attorneys allege is an unconstitutional sham that can needlessly keep parolees behind bars.
About 40 percent of Illinois' prison population is locked up on parole violations ranging from being charged with a new crime to failing to check in as required with a parole officer, according to the lawsuits.
The federal suits filed by professors at Northwestern University law school and an attorney at Uptown People's Law Center allege that Illinois is violating state law and the constitutional rights of parolees in the more than 10,000 parole revocation hearings it holds each year.
Parolees often wait weeks or months before an initial hearing that is supposed to be held or waived in about 10 days, the lawsuits allege. In extreme cases, people remain locked up even after they are acquitted of the charge that was the basis for their parole violation, the attorneys allege.
"I think everybody should care about the fact that the prisons are overcrowded and we're keeping people in prison and in the Cook County Jail for no reason," said Alexa Van Brunt, a clinical assistant professor of law at Northwestern. "It's a waste of money and resources."
"Prison is not the solution to some of these violations," she said.
Read more in our daily News Update...
From the Chicago Tribune
Three class-action lawsuits are challenging how the state revokes parole for thousands of ex-cons each year, a process the plaintiffs' attorneys allege is an unconstitutional sham that can needlessly keep parolees behind bars.
About 40 percent of Illinois' prison population is locked up on parole violations ranging from being charged with a new crime to failing to check in as required with a parole officer, according to the lawsuits.
The federal suits filed by professors at Northwestern University law school and an attorney at Uptown People's Law Center allege that Illinois is violating state law and the constitutional rights of parolees in the more than 10,000 parole revocation hearings it holds each year.
Parolees often wait weeks or months before an initial hearing that is supposed to be held or waived in about 10 days, the lawsuits allege. In extreme cases, people remain locked up even after they are acquitted of the charge that was the basis for their parole violation, the attorneys allege.
"I think everybody should care about the fact that the prisons are overcrowded and we're keeping people in prison and in the Cook County Jail for no reason," said Alexa Van Brunt, a clinical assistant professor of law at Northwestern. "It's a waste of money and resources."
"Prison is not the solution to some of these violations," she said.
Read more in our daily News Update...