Teh One Who Knocks
03-15-2011, 01:26 PM
Kensley Hawkins, 60, has saved $11,000 by working in a Joliet prison since the 1980s, making about $75 a month. The state says he owes them for the cost of his stay.
By Ameet Sachdev, Chicago Tribune reporter
Kensley Hawkins is a deadbeat, according to the state of Illinois.
He owes $455,203.14 to cover the costs of his stay at the Stateville Correctional Center in Joliet. Hawkins has been in prison since Nov. 19, 1982. His jailer is also his debt collector.
Hawkins is fighting in court to stop the state from seizing about $11,000 in his bank account to partially satisfy the debt. The 60-year-old earned the money by working while he's been behind bars, making about $75 a month.
The issue of whether the state can repossess the meager wages paid to inmates will be determined by the Illinois Supreme Court, which will hold arguments in the Hawkins case Tuesday. It's the first time the court will address the issue, which also has social justice and public policy ramifications for Illinois.
"To save $11,000 is miraculous, but the money we get from this guy means nothing to the state," said John Maki, coordinating director of the John Howard Association of Illinois, a prison reform organization. "This is not going to help create a prison culture that's more rehabilitative, which makes people less likely to offend again."
The state Department of Corrections declined to comment on Hawkins' case because the matter is pending.
Hawkins' lawyers, who are representing him for free, say the case defies logic.
"I think this is an arbitrary and wrong-headed application of the law where bureaucratic thinking gets in the way of common sense," said Paul Glad of SNR Denton, formerly Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, which has represented Hawkins since 2005.
Illinois has had an inmate work program since about 1973, according to department spokeswoman Sharyn Elman. The goal is to reduce recidivism by helping prisoners learn new skills and earn some money that they can use upon release. About 44 percent of the state's 48,000 inmates participate in the program, Elman wrote in response to e-mailed questions.
Hawkins began working soon after he entered Stateville, where he was sentenced to 60 years for the 1980 slaying of a 65-year-old man and attempting to kill two Chicago policemen. He wanted to send some money to his daughter, who was 8 when he went to prison, said Glad. Hawkins is up for parole in 2028.
Hawkins learned to build desks, chairs, dividers and cabinets in the prison's wood shop, Glad said. His wages amount to about $2 a day, not including a small commission he earned on each piece sold.
"He's very proud of the work," Glad said. "It's clearly the best part of his life."
In March 2005, nearly 23 years after he entered prison, the Corrections Department sued Hawkins in Will County. It demanded more than $455,000 that it has spent to house him from July 1, 1983, to March 17, 2005, or an average of about $57 a day.
Under Illinois law, prisoners are liable for their incarceration costs. Most offenders do not have the means to pay, but the department can begin collection proceedings against those who have sufficient assets. Hawkins' lawyers said the threshold is $10,000 in assets. The state requires prisoners to file financial statements.
In the last eight years, the department has brought more than 200 suits against current and former inmates, Elman said. The department has tried to seize inheritances and awards from personal-injury cases, said James Chapman, a Chicago lawyer who has represented prisoners in such claims.
A Will County judge ordered Hawkins to pay but also prevented the Corrections Department from seizing his bank account. Both sides appealed.
Glad and David Simonton, also of SNR Denton, argued that the Corrections Department had already deducted 3 percent of his wages, about $751, to pay for his incarceration and was not allowed to collect more. The Illinois attorney general's office, representing the Corrections Department, said the state is not limited by the wage offset from later filing a civil suit seeking more funds.
Two out of three appellate judges ruled in favor of the Corrections Department in June. The dissenter, Judge Tom Lytton, said there is a conflict in state law governing collections proceedings against prisoners. If a prisoner's only asset is wages earned behind bars, then the state is limited to the 3 percent deduction, Lytton said.
The Supreme Court is being asked to decide whether there is a conflict in the law. Hawkins' lawyers are also asking the court to throw out the $455,000 judgment against him.
Hawkins is being pursued because he diligently saved his income instead of spending it on books, magazines and other trivial items at the prison commissary, said his lawyers.
"If he had spent some more of his money, he would not have been flagged," Simonton said. "This disincentivizes working and saving."
By Ameet Sachdev, Chicago Tribune reporter
Kensley Hawkins is a deadbeat, according to the state of Illinois.
He owes $455,203.14 to cover the costs of his stay at the Stateville Correctional Center in Joliet. Hawkins has been in prison since Nov. 19, 1982. His jailer is also his debt collector.
Hawkins is fighting in court to stop the state from seizing about $11,000 in his bank account to partially satisfy the debt. The 60-year-old earned the money by working while he's been behind bars, making about $75 a month.
The issue of whether the state can repossess the meager wages paid to inmates will be determined by the Illinois Supreme Court, which will hold arguments in the Hawkins case Tuesday. It's the first time the court will address the issue, which also has social justice and public policy ramifications for Illinois.
"To save $11,000 is miraculous, but the money we get from this guy means nothing to the state," said John Maki, coordinating director of the John Howard Association of Illinois, a prison reform organization. "This is not going to help create a prison culture that's more rehabilitative, which makes people less likely to offend again."
The state Department of Corrections declined to comment on Hawkins' case because the matter is pending.
Hawkins' lawyers, who are representing him for free, say the case defies logic.
"I think this is an arbitrary and wrong-headed application of the law where bureaucratic thinking gets in the way of common sense," said Paul Glad of SNR Denton, formerly Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, which has represented Hawkins since 2005.
Illinois has had an inmate work program since about 1973, according to department spokeswoman Sharyn Elman. The goal is to reduce recidivism by helping prisoners learn new skills and earn some money that they can use upon release. About 44 percent of the state's 48,000 inmates participate in the program, Elman wrote in response to e-mailed questions.
Hawkins began working soon after he entered Stateville, where he was sentenced to 60 years for the 1980 slaying of a 65-year-old man and attempting to kill two Chicago policemen. He wanted to send some money to his daughter, who was 8 when he went to prison, said Glad. Hawkins is up for parole in 2028.
Hawkins learned to build desks, chairs, dividers and cabinets in the prison's wood shop, Glad said. His wages amount to about $2 a day, not including a small commission he earned on each piece sold.
"He's very proud of the work," Glad said. "It's clearly the best part of his life."
In March 2005, nearly 23 years after he entered prison, the Corrections Department sued Hawkins in Will County. It demanded more than $455,000 that it has spent to house him from July 1, 1983, to March 17, 2005, or an average of about $57 a day.
Under Illinois law, prisoners are liable for their incarceration costs. Most offenders do not have the means to pay, but the department can begin collection proceedings against those who have sufficient assets. Hawkins' lawyers said the threshold is $10,000 in assets. The state requires prisoners to file financial statements.
In the last eight years, the department has brought more than 200 suits against current and former inmates, Elman said. The department has tried to seize inheritances and awards from personal-injury cases, said James Chapman, a Chicago lawyer who has represented prisoners in such claims.
A Will County judge ordered Hawkins to pay but also prevented the Corrections Department from seizing his bank account. Both sides appealed.
Glad and David Simonton, also of SNR Denton, argued that the Corrections Department had already deducted 3 percent of his wages, about $751, to pay for his incarceration and was not allowed to collect more. The Illinois attorney general's office, representing the Corrections Department, said the state is not limited by the wage offset from later filing a civil suit seeking more funds.
Two out of three appellate judges ruled in favor of the Corrections Department in June. The dissenter, Judge Tom Lytton, said there is a conflict in state law governing collections proceedings against prisoners. If a prisoner's only asset is wages earned behind bars, then the state is limited to the 3 percent deduction, Lytton said.
The Supreme Court is being asked to decide whether there is a conflict in the law. Hawkins' lawyers are also asking the court to throw out the $455,000 judgment against him.
Hawkins is being pursued because he diligently saved his income instead of spending it on books, magazines and other trivial items at the prison commissary, said his lawyers.
"If he had spent some more of his money, he would not have been flagged," Simonton said. "This disincentivizes working and saving."