I frederick walker fully admits to throwing water on prentice. He says she had just pepper sprayed him, and was trying to stop her from doing it again. A few days after the water incident, walker said two guards came to his cell and beat him. Walker was later treated for a rib fracture,. according to his medical records. In emals, prentice wrote to a group of guards that walker is reporting an injury caused by staff. To andrew edwards, former officer at pontiac.
Pontiac Correctional Center is a maximum security prison in the small town of Pontiac, Illinois. It’s the oldest in the state - founded in 1871 - and has a reputation for being one of the most violent. There is a guard at Pontiac who some staff praise for being tough and having their backs. But other staff and people in the prison say she is known for abuse. In 2019, she was investigated by the Department of Corrections and State Police. Investigators had obtained 427 of the guard’s emails, revealing the conversations she’d had with other staff when it seemed like no one was looking.
This episode is in collaboration with the podcast Motive, from WBEZ Chicago, hosted by Shannon Heffernan. Season 4 of Motive investigates the hidden world of big prisons in small towns.
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