A new podcast episode revisits a recent investigation of mental health courts by Illinois Answers and Mindsite News.
mental health
[Video] Strapped Down: Investigating Restraint Chairs in Illinois Jails
The Illinois Answers Project’s “Strapped Down” series investigated the overuse, misuse and abuse of restraint chairs in county jails across Illinois.
A Mentally Ill Man Died After Being Restrained. His Familyโs Advocacy Led to Statewide Changes in California.
The knock came around midnight.
The officers told Carty Holland that his son, Andrew, had died at the county jail.
โThey didnโt tell me how he passed,โ Holland said. โThe ugliness of it came later on.โ
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 hoursโthe upper limit set by the chair manufacturer. The jail said theyโre not equipped to care for so many mentally ill detainees.
A Mentally Ill Man was Restrained in a Chair for 68 hours at Franklin County Jail, Violating Policies, Report says
One man was restrained for 68 hours, another for 27 hours. Both were mentally ill. The jail’s own policies say restraint should never last more than 10 hours.
An Illinois disability rights watchdog group says the jail violated both its own policies and state standards.
