The chairman and one of the members of the Illinois Inmate Review Board have resigned over backlash over their decision to release a man who stabbed his ex-girlfriend’s young son to death less than 24 hours after his release.
Board President Donald Shelter and Trustee Leanne Miller resigned on Monday following the March 13 murder of 11-year-old Jayden Perkins. According to CBS2.
Perkins was allegedly stabbed in the chest on March 13 by her mother’s ex-man, who had just been released from prison.
Less than 24 hours after being granted parole from Statesville Correctional Center, Crosetti-Brand, 37, took Perkins and his mother, Lateria Smith, to Edgewater, according to local Chicago news outlets. It is suspected that he was ambushed at the entrance of the residence.
Smith, 33, was stabbed in the neck but survived.
Miller reportedly approved Bland’s parole the day before.
The heinous incident sparked widespread outrage, with Smith seeking a protection order against Brand last month.
At the time of the charges, Bland was serving a 16-year prison sentence for burglary and aggravated assault.
A Cook County judge scheduled a hearing on the order for March 13, according to CBS 2.
Both parties were scheduled to attend and Mr Brand was informed of the prison hearing.
But Miller wrote a report approving Bland’s parole on the 12th, and Smith and her son were attacked hours before the hearing was to take place.
The Illinois Department of Corrections and the Illinois Prisoner Review Board subsequently claimed they were unaware of the protective order hearing, CBS 2 reported.
However, emails obtained by the media revealed that the Department of Corrections knew about the hearing as early as February 22.
“The department sincerely apologizes for any confusion its previous statements may have caused,” the station told CBS 2.
Shortly after the station reported on the emails, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced the resignations of Shelton and Miller.
The governor’s statement read: “The Prisoner Review Board must be able to operate independently to review the most difficult cases, but I believe that Leanne Miller has made the right decision to step down from her role. It is written as “There is.”
“It is clear that the evidence in this case was not given the careful consideration that victims of domestic violence deserve, and I will ensure that additional safeguards and training are put in place to prevent a tragedy like this from happening again.” “I’m committed to doing that,” Pritzker said.
Police said Bland was first paroled in October last year and was briefly re-released in February for allegedly “threatening” a woman with text messages.
He is now charged with murder in connection with Perkins’ death, along with a number of other violations, including violating an order of protection.
“Because orders of protection are often filed in civil court, many agencies do not have access to case management systems. Therefore, when an individual is in custody, these petitions are sent to the defendant and the “It is extremely important that we do this to protect the victim,” the Cook County Circuit Court Clerk’s Office told CBS 2 following the debacle over Bland’s parole.
The department acknowledged that similar communication lapses could affect others seeking protective orders against soon-to-be-released inmates.
“These issues must be remedied immediately,” the court clerk’s office asserted.
“A system in which the public pays to protect the public should be transparent. The clerk’s office is not allowed to release data without authorization and there are serious problems with the court system as a whole. It’s clear,” Circuit Court Clerk Iris Martinez told CBS 2.
“If we do not provide basic data points to the public, community providers and domestic violence advocacy groups seeking grants and donations for resources to address gender-based violence will be challenged. “It also hinders,” she pointed out.
