The knock came around midnight.
The officers told Carty Holland that his son, Andrew, had died at the county jail.
“They didn’t tell me how he passed,” Holland said. “The ugliness of it came later on.”
Statewide Investigations
Posted inCriminal Justice & Public Safety
Iowa Jails Abused Restraint Chairs. A Watchdog Agency Intervened, Spurring Reform.
Two Iowa jails have made reforms after an ombudsman report found the facilities were restraining people with mental illnesses in chairs for long periods of time.
Posted inInvestigating Responses
This Pennsylvania County Banned Restraint Chairs at its Jail. Public Data Was Key.
Jason Porter takes comfort in knowing restraint chairs have been banned from Allegheny County Jail.
He was strapped down in the controversial device for six hours without food or water in 2020. His testimony bolstered by public data helped bring about a ban on restraint chairs at Allegheny County Jail.
Posted inStatewide Investigations
Under ‘Crime-Free Housing’ Laws, Families May Be Evicted for Minor Offenses
In some Illinois cities, shoplifting, calling 911 too many times or even being a victim of a crime can get you kicked out of your home.
Posted inStatewide Investigations
Cook County Jail restrained people in chairs 874 times — and never reported it to the state
State standards require jails to report the use of restraint chairs on incarcerated people. Cook County Jail never did.
Posted inInvestigations
Child Welfare Agency Failed Repeatedly to Produce ‘Critical’ Reports After Child Deaths, Injuries
The Department of Children and Family Services is legally required to make the reports public after examining what went wrong but did not in thousands of instances.
Posted inStatewide Investigations
Champaign County Jail Begins Tracking and Reporting Use of Restraint Chairs to the State for the First Time
Champaign County Jail updated the way it documents, tracks and reports use of restraint chairs after an Illinois Answers Project investigation raised questions about the facility’s record-keeping practices and failure to report incidents to a state oversight unit.
Posted inStatewide Investigations
People were Strapped to Chairs for Hours, Days at Madison County Jail. Many were Mentally Ill or in Withdrawal.
Of all Illinois jails, Madison County has the most incidents of restraint lasting longer than 10 hours–the upper limit set by the chair manufacturer. The jail said they’re not equipped to care for so many mentally ill detainees.
Posted inUpdates
Our “Strapped Down” series on restraint chairs in Illinois is now a zine
We spent months looking into the use of restraint chairs in Illinois. You can now read about our findings and more resources in our zine.
Posted inStatewide Investigations
He Attempted Suicide. Peoria Jail Restrained Him in a Chair for Five Days.
Peoria County Jail, in recent years, has restrained its charges for longer durations than other jails in the state and far past industry recommendations.
