Stop the abuse in Illinois prisons

Director John Baldwin
Illinois Department of Corrections
1301 Concordia Court
P.O. Box 19277
Springfield, IL 62794-9277

RE: Treatment of Inmate Gerard G. Schultz Jr. #R55165

Dear Director Baldwin:

This petition is brought forward to highlight the abuse and degrading treatment of Mr. Gerard Schultz Jr., an inmate at Menard Correctional Center in Illinois, as well as other inmates across the state. We wish to draw to your attention the ongoing abuse and our fear for Mr. Schultz’s safety and well-being. This petition specifically mentions events that recently happened and continue to happen at the hands of certain Illinois Correctional Officers. These events are typical of stories that are told by other inmates in Illinois and unfortunately fear of retaliation from the Correctional administration has kept those inmates from speaking out. The events that occurred recently prompted us to take this action. They are described briefly below :

On September 6, 2018, Gerard Schultz was taken out of his protective custody cell and led into a visitation strip down area, where there was no camera. He was asked to remove his clothes and handcuffed naked. The officers then slammed him on the floor repeatedly and twisted his legs and knees while trying to choke him. They twisted his testicles so violently that it made him scream out from the excruciating pain. He was later led back into his cell. Currently, these is an ongoing investigation into this event. Gerard Schultz was charged with Officer Assault and has been placed in Segregation for one year. This punishment was handed down in absentia and occurred without a procedural hearing. Mr. Schultz was not invited to attend the proceedings nor given a chance to defend himself.

Also occurring on September 6, 2018 was the death of an inmate on suicide watch, a few cells down from Mr. Schultz. Many heard this man, and another who died on September 7, cry for help, and scream in pain, begging for relief from the heat in the cell. The men around them watched as the Correctional Officers ignored them, laughed and poked fun at them. To date there has been no public announcement of what caused these men to die.

Gerard Schultz did speak out for himself and on behalf of the men who died. He followed procedures and wrote the grievances. Even requesting a polygraph test be conducted to confirm what he had attested is true. Since being placed in segregation, he is constantly threatened by some of the officers, with phrases such as these: “slap him” and “kick him up”. At one point Correctional Officers were heard yelling to other inmates to purposely instigate retaliation against Mr. Schultz by inciting false allegations that Mr. Schultz was in protective custody due to child molestation charges, murder of a police officer and that he is an illegal immigrant. None of this is true.

Mr. Schultz is often left without food. The officers dismissed it as an act of innocuous absent mindedness on their part when they conveniently’ forgot’ to serve him food. Mr. Schultz leaves his light on so they cannot use ‘his cell was dark’ as an excuse for not feeding him. Racial abuse is a constant for those with different colored skins.

Recently Mr. Schultz has been moved from his cell with bars and a camera outside to a cell with a steel door and no camera outside, again placing him in a vulnerable position where he can be assaulted indiscriminately without the witness of a camera. This leads Mr Schultz to fear for his life and heightens our concerns.

We request that this urgent situation be examined closely, as well as the deaths of 3 men in 3 days. The Illinois Department of Correction is failing to ensure the safety of inmates in your protection.

Respectfully