|
|
| Fires at jail injure several, lead to smoking ban for inmates |
| By Chicago Daily Herald |
| Published: 10/27/2004 |
|
Smoking no longer is allowed in Cook County (Ill.) jail's maximum-security wing after inmates lit four fires on Monday. As many as six Cook County inmates may be charged with offenses related to the fires, said Bill Cunningham, spokesman for Cook County Sheriff Michael Sheahan. Four of the inmates have been detained in the jail on murder charges for more than a year. Around 5 a.m. Monday, an inmate lit his bedding on fire, Cunningham said. Three sheriff's officers were treated and released for minor smoke-related injuries at nearby Mt. Sinai Hospital. On Monday night between 9:30 and 10, three sheriff's officers and three inmates were taken to Cermak Hospital on the jail grounds after two inmates lit their bed sheets on fire. Cunningham said while the officers tried to extinguish the fire, inmates threw cups of urine at them. "While they were doing that, a third inmate lit a mattress on fire," Cunningham said. Inmates in the maximum security wing are in their cells 23 hours a day and don't have access to television. They were allowed to smoke in the unit before Monday's fire, Cunningham said. |
MARKETPLACE search vendors | advanced search
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
|
Comments:
No comments have been posted for this article.
Login to let us know what you think