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| Officers Question Treatment Of Two Dwight Prison Inmates |
| By NBC5 |
| Published: 03/22/2004 |
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Inmates at Dwight Correctional Center in Illinois have been moved out of their cells and placed in segregation, and officers who complained have been transferred. Sources told NBC5's Mary Ann Ahern that this is retribution after Guin Garcia voiced questions about treatment inside the prison. The allegation is that new management in place at Dwight is using Garcia and Patti Columbo as examples. Corrections officers inside the facility are speaking out, saying prisoners' rights, as well as the investigative process, were violated. Garcia spoke with NBC5 just days before former Gov. Jim Edgar spared her the death penalty in 1996. Convicted of killing her daughter and her husband, Garcia has since maintained a low profile at Dwight. Garcia spoke to NBC5 recently, when she called over the weekend. Her cellmate is Patricia Columbo, who -- along with her boyfriend -- was found guilty in 1977 of murdering her parents and her brother. Neither woman has led a model life, but sources said they have not been considered troublemakers as prisoners. But now, just months before Columbo's parole hearing and just days after Garcia said she sent a letter to the warden, sources inside Dwight prison said the women have been written up for having unauthorized items in their cell, including a crochet needle. Correction officers inside Dwight said they are not allowed to speak to the media and fear retribution, so an unidentified man was asked to tell their story. "They were given minor as opposed to major disciplinary tickets because that's all they could pin on them," the source said. But sources said hearing officers dismissed the tickets. Nevertheless, Garcia and Columbo remain on investigative status, segregated from the prison population. In the last few days, NBC5 has learned that the officers involved in expunging those disciplinary tickets have been transferred. Sources inside the prison said they question the political connections of some of the new management at the facility. The Illinois Department of Corrections said, "Safety and security of our facilities is the most serious of issues. We will aggressively pursue and investigate these types of allegations." A department spokesman also said that staff members are allowed to speak to the media, but not on behalf of the Department of Corrections. |
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