This is an interview with Chicago activist Mark Clements, a survivor of police torture by the Chicago Police Department who was wrongfully imprisoned for 28 years before his conviction was overturned in 2009 by what is likely considered In retaliation for his tireless work organizing and advocating for the release of inmates at the Cook County Jail during this crisis, Mark was arrested on a 2018 misdemeanor warrant. Mark spent two days in the Cook County Jail, site of the largest concentration of coronavirus cases in the country, and witnessed firsthand the mistreatment of inmates there. He generously agreed to be interviewed by Rampant’s Dana Blanchard shortly after his release to bring to light the inhumane conditions faced by prisoners in Chicago and beyond.
Thank you Mark for taking the time to chat with us so soon after publication. First, can you take a minute to talk about what the conditions are like in the Cook County Jail in relation to the COVID-19 crisis, as someone who has just been there, but also as someone who cares about the Demand for the release of the prisoners organized by? this crisis?
Rules for Sending Photos to the Cook County Department of Corrections Jail
The CCDC has rules for inmates and photos. You can send photos to a person in prison if you follow the rules. Some of these rules are:
- An inmate is limited to a total of 25 photos.
- Pictures must be kept in the person’s locker and must not be placed on any of the walls.
- Images must not show weapons, money or gang signs.
- No nudity or sexually explicit images.
- There are no photos showing money.
- Nudity of children is not allowed, including shirtless photography.
Karl Battiste
Inmate 64 Apr 19 Battiste was charged with killing a man outside his South Chicago home.
Battiste has been held without bail since January 2019. He called his daughter Karla on Easter Sunday to say he had a headache. He died at Stroger Hospital just a week later. Karla says her father noticed the symptoms spreading down her hallway and that her bed was under a hood. She was never officially notified of her father’s death, but received the news weeks later from a family member. “He was the smartest guy I’ve ever met. I could call him and ask him a question about anything and he would know the answer,” she says. “I wasn’t ready for him to go through with it.”
Detainee 42 Apr 19 Sangabriel has been held without bail since October on serious drunk driving charges. In early March, his attorney opted to keep him in the Cook County jail rather than plead guilty so the Little Village resident could finish his addiction treatment program. Undocumented, Sangabriel apparently feared that leaving the Cook County jail would land him in the “arms of immigration,” a niece told the Tribune. “I wanted to wait there.”