Female Inmate Who Stabbed CO Gets Rec Time Same Day

A female segregation inmate who stabbed a CO in January at Dwight Correctional Facility in Illinois was provided recreation time on the same evening and the local union has protested through the labor-management process.

"She is one of the most aggressive inmates we have," said Phil Wilkin, president of AFSCME Local 1133. The women's prison is about 90 miles south of Chicago.

When officer Bryan Shaw went to the cell to close the food slot, said Wilkin, the woman stabbed him with what prison officials said was some kind of antenna or similar metal object.

Shaw sought medical treatment and was sent home after the incident, which occurred about 6:40 p.m. Sometime between 9:30 and 10 p.m., a lieutenant brought the same inmate out for recreation.

Staff assaults without prosecution of the inmates is an ongoing problem, he said, noting that "it's not an everyday thing," but it happens often enough.

In the past, such assaults were rare, he pointed out, but recently there have been more incidents. However, it's a "handful of inmates," who cause most of the problems. They are younger, more aggressive and, often, gang-connected.

Usually these problems are handled through the labor-management process, rather than through the grievance procedure. The local has been trying to have some kind of charge filed, but the prison administration continues to claim that the investigation is continuing, after a month and a half.