NAARPR

On May 16th, 1994 Dorianne Warnsley was brutally murdered in Decatur, IL. Although the state’s attorney’s office received signed confessions from the other individuals involved, their main suspect and subject of an ultimate first- degree murder conviction was Montell Johnson.

Already serving time at a California state correctional facility, Johnson was the victim of a detainer executive agreement between California and Illinois. He was extradited to Illinois to stand trial for the murder of Ms. Warnsley for the purpose of receiving the death penalty. This was a condition of the detainer, which if broken requires his release back into California custody to serve out the remainder of his life sentence.  

Montell maintained his innocence in the Warnsley case, choosing to represent himself at the trial. At his trial, there was no jury of his peers only a judge and evidence presented against him. He soon realized the cards were not stacked in his favor; the victim a pregnant white woman and the defendant a black man. Without the resources to discover evidence to support his claims he soon lost the hope that he would win his case, and informed the court that he would rather be executed than spend his life in prison.

There are enough questions about his conviction and sentencing that Gov. Ryan, instead of commuting Johnson’s sentence to life in prison without possibility of parole, sentenced him instead to 40 years, with a possibility of parole in 20. Terry Hoyt, is the mother of the victim, Dorianne Warnsley. She pleaded with Gov. Ryan to reduce Johnson’s sentence. She reminded the governor that another man had confessed to the murder, and had received only 15 years in jail in exchange for testifying against Johnson, and that a third person who was an accessory received no sentence at all.

But none of these questions concern what has happened since the sentencing. The sentence actually being carried out on Montell Johnson is a sentence of torture for life. This is not because any court ever passed this sentence, but because the Illinois Department of Corrections bureaucracy has no room for a case like Johnson’s. Montell suffers from advance stage Multiple Sclerosis. With complications of malnutrition, ducubutis ulcers, and Hepatitis C. In the face of his severe medical condition, the rules require that he be held in a maximum-security prison.

In spite of the fact that he can neither stand nor walk, Johnson is designated a “High Escape Risk.” His counselor when he was at Menard, Bob Hoffman, explained that the designation is a result of the fact that he carries lengthy prison sentences from two states. The glass separating him from visitors is because of this designation. The tiny room is used for consultations between inmates and their attorneys. In Johnson’s case it’s because he has fallen out of his wheel chair on previous visits, and the small quarters prevent that.

Although he is receiving some treatment, he does not receive all the medication and physical therapy he needs because the maximum-security facility at Sheridan is not equipped to provide it.  According to Dr. Norman Kohn, there is clear evidence of his mental decline that the prison medical staff either ignored or overlooked. The practice of referring to Montell as “the offender” instead of “the patient” in his medical records may be a contributing factor to the failure of the medical staff to use appropriate professional judgment. Once, Montell’s medical condition advanced to the point of abnormal vital signs, a life threatening event that led to his transfer to UIC tertiary care center for a surgical evaluation. When the surgeon stated that the scheduled surgery would entail a 2-week delay, he was simply transferred back to the prison. Although he is now been placed on a feeding tube, he still suffers from malnutrition and a life threatening wound infection. The guards at Menard are not even equipped to take care of his most basic needs.

What social or other purpose is served by keeping Montell Johnson in a maximum-security prison under conditions that can only be described as torture? At what point does this question become relevant?

Recent case updates:

Tuesday, February 12, 2009:  A status hearing was conducted to discuss the conditions of his release back into California custody. Considering the recent cutbacks in California’s budget, there is a question of whether or not California can afford to take Montell back. The verdict is still out on whether California state can provide Montell the proper medical care he requires.  

---------------------------------
Cards and letters can be sent to Montell Johnson at

Montell Johnson, B61337
Sheridan Correctional Center
4017 E. 2063 Rd.
Sheridan, Il 60551

Call, write, email Illinois Department of Corrections Superintendent, Roger Walker, and Gov. Pat Quinn and ask them why Montell Johnson is denied treatment.