The mistrial in the Lindsay Clancy case highlights a truth Illinois should confront. Clancy’s Massachusetts jurors understood that a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity would not mean freedom; it would mean commitment to a psychiatric hospital, with any release subject to continuing judicial review.
Illinois does not provide jurors with comparable candor regarding its guilty but mentally ill verdict. The label sounds like a humane compromise — guilt accompanied by guaranteed treatment. It is not.
Under Illinois law, a person found guilty but mentally ill receives precisely the same sentence as any other person convicted of the offense and is sent directly to the Illinois Department of Corrections. The statute promises only whatever treatment the IDOC itself determines is necessary, guaranteeing neither hospitalization nor a higher level of care than what is available to the general prison population.
That distinction is not academic. The recent investigation by The Marshall Project, WBEZ and Chicago Sun-Times on the Joliet Treatment Center — the prison intended to provide intensive mental healthcare — documented more than 70 fires in three years, including repeated acts of self-immolation and two deaths.
Perhaps most tellingly, the IDOC’s own annual report does not separately track individuals sentenced as guilty but mentally ill. Illinois cannot evaluate whether the verdict fulfills its promise if the state does not publicly account for those receiving it.
Jurors should be told plainly that not guilty by reason of insanity verdicts can lead to secure hospitalization, while guilty but mentally ill ordinarily leads to prison. Illinois should require a complete consequences instruction for juries, and either create a meaningful treatment pathway for guilty but mentally ill defendants or abolish a verdict that promises care in name only.
Attorney Kulmeet “Bob” Galhotra, former supervisor, Cook County Public Defender’s Homicide Task Force, Galewood
More UN delegates should have walked out on Trump
On Tuesday while addressing the United Nations General Assembly, President Donald Trump said that he could “annihilate the Islamic Republic” and “drive them into hell with no chance of survival,” at which point the Iranian delegation walked out. (The U.S. delegation did the same the next day during the Iranian president’s U.N. speech)
What a magnificent moment it would’ve been had the entire standing-room-only audience of global representatives had done the same when Trump spoke, sending a clear message to the reckless out-of-control maniac who tragically holds America’s highest office.
Rob Hirsh, West Ridge
Bears don’t need to leave Soldier Field
According to Wikipedia, Soldier Field has a seating capacity of 62,500 people for football games. However, the attendance for Sunday’s game against the Vikings was only 58,914.
One wonders why an organization that can’t fill one of the smallest stadiums in the NFL for its home opener thinks it deserves public support for a new stadium. So many critical needs are currently inadequately supported or going unmet. The McCaskeys’ Bears should be told to move to the back of the line.
Chet Alexander, Alsip