Tuesday, November 16, 2010, Cook County commissioners gave the green-light to a $55 million dollar settlement in a lawsuit against the Cook County Jail for illegal strip-searches.
The complaint alleges that between 2004 and 2009, male prisoners were strip-searched as a form of punishment and as a way to sexually demean them. Furthermore, the lawsuit purports that the searchers were done without probable cause. In 2009, a federal jury deemed the strip-searches unconstitutional.
45 million of the 55 million dollar settlement will be paid by Cook County taxpayers, the other 10 million will be picked up by the county's insurance carrier.
An estimated 400,000 complainants stand to profit from the settlement. Each of them could walk away $1000 richer.
While some Chicagoans have taken the position that the judicial system shouldn't reward “criminals“, I see things differently. If it weren't for the unconstitutional actions of the officers at the Cook County Jail, there would be no lawsuit and no settlement.
Every time someone with legal authority operates outside the scope of their employment, and decides to violate someone's civil rights - who gets the bill? We do. So, if you’re going to be upset, be angry with the right people.
No comments:
Post a Comment
NOTICE: Do not post SPAM, links to other websites, website addresses, phone numbers, or email addresses.
Unless a person is a direct or indirect subject of a news article, or a public figure, do not post other people's first and last names in the forum.
**** COMMENTS THAT CONTAIN RACIST, VULGAR, OR VIOLENT REMARKS, WILL BE DELETED! ****
Furthermore, with the exception of the comments left by the blog’s administrators or editor, the opinions expressed in the comments section are the sole responsibility of the author, and do not reflect the views and opinions of the editor or the administrators of Chicago News Report.
Under federal law, we are not responsible for third party comments.
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.