UPDATED 5:14 P.M. 6/18/24
A federal class action lawsuit has been filed on behalf two current inmates at the Knox County Mary Davis Home, accusing the juvenile detention home and its leaders of abuse in several forms.
The lawsuit, originally filed May 28, but amended and announced Monday by the ACLU of Illinois, accuses the home of using 23.5 hours of solitary confinement for days on end as punishment, without warning and without saying how long.
“There is an overwhelming consensus that extended solitary confinement is irreparably harmful to kids, and it’s made worse through combination with the other abuses kids have to endure at MDH,” said Kevin Fee, Senior Special Litigation Counsel at the ACLU of Illinois, one of the lawyers representing the youth in the lawsuit, in a news release.
The suit also claims that juveniles are often subject to strip searches that are often described as invasive — in some cases, involving the cutting off of clothes and making the juveniles do jumping jacks.
The suit also claims there’s a lack of mental health care at the home, or very little, and there’s no sort of formal education that goes on there.
There’s also a claim by an inmate of fluorescent lights being left on in cells constantly.
And, the suit claims that according to an investigation last year, there also were inadequate meal practices.
Knox County, 9th Circuit Court Chief Judge Raymond Cavanaugh, Court Services Director Bridget Pletz, and Mary Davis Home Superintendent Wendi Steck have been listed as defendants.
“It’s clear MDH leadership will not change their practices, or address the harm they are causing young people, without intervention from a federal court,” said Fee, in the news release. “This situation must be rectified now, so that kids at MDH are no longer forced to waste months of their childhood pacing back and forth in a concrete box, and enduring the profound damage caused by solitary confinement.”
It’s not clear from court records when the next hearing in the case will be.
Knox County Board Jared Hawkinson told WGIL he was made aware of the lawsuit Tuesday, but deferred any further comment to Jeremy Karlin, Knox County State’s Attorney.
“This matter has been turned over to the law firm that represents Knox County in civil rights lawsuits,” said Karlin, to WGIL. “It’s expected that the Illinois Attorney General’s Office will represent the other parties (listed as defendants).”
The lawsuit comes about three months after juveniles allegedly attacked staff at the home, injuring eight.
j.b.h. v. Knox County – Complaint by WGIL Radio on Scribd
