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State Rep. Adam Niemerg, R-Dieterich, said he’s hearing
concerning stories from prison staff about dangerous substances
being smuggled into the state’s prison system. It started with
Lawrence Correctional Center, where he said paper correspondence
for inmates is sometimes laced with dangerous drugs.
“And the employees are opening that and inhaling that substance
and having to be sent to the hospital,” Niemerg told The Center
Square.
The Illinois Department of Corrections didn’t immediately
respond to questions about roughly how many staff and/or inmates
have had bad experiences after being exposed to such drug-laced
paper coming into prisons.
“It’s a very, very serious issue because the inmates are taking
that substance, rolling it and then smoking it on that
correspondence coming in,” Niemerg said.
He said he plans to tour a corrections facility early next
month. The solution to the problem is clear, he said.
“They have [tablet computers],” Niemerg said. “Just make a copy
of that correspondence. Have that correspondence then go via
[tablet computers] to the inmate and it would solve this issue.”
But, there is some resistance Niemerg said he’s hearing about
that idea.
“The individual that I spoke with just a few days ago told me
that they were told by somebody in Springfield with the
Department of Corrections that the inmates must feel that piece
of paper in order to feel the love of whomever sent them that
correspondence, which we think is absolutely ridiculous,” he
said.
If digitizing the correspondence isn’t in the cards, Niemerg
said there has to be consequences for inmates found in
possession of laced papers.
“Well, penalize that inmate. Take away privileges,” he said. |
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