A controversial holding cell at an Illinois women’s prison is still being used, over one year after the head of corrections vowed to take it down.
Guards and inmates at Logan Correctional Center in central Illinois call it the “crisis cage.”
The Illinois Department of Corrections says it’s 8 feet tall and 7 and a half feet wide.
It’s used when guards believe a woman is at risk of harming herself or others.
Former prisoners say it’s barbaric and inhumane. Even the head of the Illinois Department of Corrections says it’s a problem.
Last year, Director John Baldwin said he had a note on his fridge that read “make today demolition day at Logan,” to remind himself he needs to remove it. But a spokeswoman for IDOC says it will continue to be used until a new crisis center at the prison opens late next month.
Baldwin says the note remains hanging in his home.