With help from Chicago-based lawyers, Gay appealed to the local state’s attorney. Gay acknowledges he did some of those things but says the prison put him in circumstances that made his mental illness worse – then punished him for the way he acted. He was repeatedly charged with battery – often for throwing liquids, like urine, at staff. Gay lives with serious mental illness, and after time in solitary confinement, he began to act out.
WBEZ reporter Shannon Heffernan brings us the story of Anthony Gay, who was sentenced to seven years in prison on a parole violation but ended up with 97 years added to his sentence.