Law

The Menard prison center is one of the 50 department of corrections in Illinois which is managed by the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) and also one of the 6 maximum security prison in that state. The Menard prison center opened in March 1878 which makes it the second oldest prison in Illinois. Before 1970, The Menard prison center was better known as the Southern Illinois Penitentiary and its located in the town of Chester in Randolph County. The Menard prison center house an average daily population of 3410 inmates and is Illinois’s largest maximum-security prison. It was once a place where inmates were getting executed but back January 10 2003, thanks to former Governor George Ryan, the Condemned Unit was abolished and clemency was granted to all Illinois death row inmates. The average age of the prisoners within the Menard prison center is 34 years old and each inmate cost the Illinois Department of Correction )IDOC) approximally $19,190 each year. Throughout it’s 132 years of history, the Menard prison center houses some of the most notorious and dangerous personalities ever known to mankind. Here are some of the most televised and had the biggest impact on the frontline:

Hubert Geralds received a life sentence for the death of 6 prostitutes from the south side of Chicago.

Kenneth Allen was sentenced to death for killing William Bosak and Roger van Schaik; 2 police officers from Chicago.

Michael Blucker was an ex inmate who served a term of imprisonment for burglary. He made the headlines when he sued the Illinois Department of Corrections for contracting HIV while incarcerated within the Menard prison center. He stated that some prison staff members and gang members made an alliance and raped him. Juries later founded that the staff were not liable but the case shed light on other problems such as sexual assault and gang activities inside the Menard prison center.

David Hendricks is the reason why miracles do happen. He received a stiff sentence of 4 consecutive life terms in prison for the 1983 slaughter of his wife and children. But in 1991, after new evidences emerged and an in-depth look at the case, he was pronounced innocent and freed from all charges.

Richard Honeck was serving a life sentence for murder. After 64 years of incarceration within the Menard prison center, he got somewhat lucky and received parole. This case was reported to be one of the longest sentence ever served which ended in the prisoner’s freedom.

During the early 1980’s Robin Gecht, raped and mutilated an 18 year old prostitute from the Chicago area. He later was sentenced to 120 years of incarceration within the Menard prison center.

Chester Weger was found guilty of killing 3 women at the Starved Rock State Park in Utica, Illinois. He was later sentenced to life.

In 1993, James Degorski killed 7 peoples inside the Brown’s Chicken Massacre in Palatine Illinois (168 W. Northwest Highway in Palatine). He was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole within the Menard prison center.

Homer Van Meter was incarcerated for stealing a car on January 11 1924 and was paroled in December of that same year. Although his time served inside the Menard prison center was short, the events that took place from the time he was released in 1924 till the moment he opened fire on 4 officers; resulting in the officers returning fire and killing him instantly on August 23 1934 (at the age of 27), made him a perfect candidate for this list. Other events that put his name in the history books within the Menard prison center prior to his death are the 30000$ bank robberies, beating a correctional officer unconscious, prison escapes, surgery attempts and his association with John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, Tommy Carroll, Eddie Green and many others.

Although many inmates committed their most violent crimes before their incarcerations, that doesn’t mean they will stop once confined. In May 1973, 38 inmates took control of the commissary within the Menard prison center and held the guard hostage for 16 consecutive hours. A year later in May 1974, 60 prisoners held 4 guards hostage and demanded congregational rights in the prison yard and many changes in the administrative procedures. These incidents are the direct results of a significant increase in the convict’s population, not only within the Menard prison center but also all over the USA.