the crime report

The Illinois prisons chief who took the blame for a botched prisoner early release program under Gov. Pat Quinn is resigning as the Democratic governor seeks to stem the political damage from an election-year controversy, reports the Chicago Tribune. Michael Randle is leaving Sept. 17 to “pursue a new opportunity” out of state. Acting on Quinn’s general instructions to cut costs, Randle started a program last September that sped up the rate prisoners could earn good time credit. That lead to 1,745 inmates being let out an average of 36 days before the end of their sentence. Some convicts were released almost immediately, before corrections officials could assess their rehabilitation needs. And some of those released early went on to commit additional crimes. (more…)

The author of a series of books that apparently inspired a gunman to take hostages Wednesday at Discovery Channel’s headquarters in Silver Spring, Md., said he was baffled by the incident. Daniel Quinn, 75, wrote a four-book series including “My Ishmael,” the 1997 novel gunman James Lee mentioned as the first in his list of 11 demands. In an online manifesto, Lee said the Discovery Channel “must” run daily, prime-time shows “based on” a six-page passage of the novel in which Ishmael and his 12-year-old apprentice discuss the Industrial Revolution and why humans were so creative and resourceful during that period. Lee was shot and killed by a police sharpshooter, and his three hostages were not hurt. (more…)

Illinois routinely prosecutes teenage nonviolent offenders in adult court, says the Chicago Reporter. The paper’s analysis of court data found that 17-year-olds convicted of felonies in the state defy the perception that they are violent criminals who deserve to be punished alongside adults. More than half of 17-year-olds prosecuted in Cook County’s adult courts were convicted for drug deals and property theft.  Include robbery without a gun, and nonviolent offenses amount to 71 percent of all convictions. The single largest number of convictions was based on low-level drug offenses. (more…)

The former New York state prison director who took every Friday off for 17 years also wrongfully traded gifts and food for millions of dollars in state purchases, reports the Albany Times-Union. For 13 years until 2008, Howard Dean and prison staff received free meals from at least two food vendors that had $2.5 million in purchases with the Food Production Center, which Dean directed, said state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli and Inspector General Joseph Fisch. Fisch likened the actions of Dean to extortion, while the comptroller cited a “culture of acceptance” of corruption. (more…)

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