Q&A: Prosecutors open up about prisoner’s fatal beating

By JOHN O’CONNOR
AP Political Writer

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Three former Illinois prison guards will spend years behind bars for fatally punching, kicking and stomping a 65-year-old Black inmate, after dragging him out of sight of security cameras. Justice department officials say the sentences send an important message to state penal institutions. In an interview with the Associated Press, U.S. Attorney Gregory Harris and assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Bass discussed the 20-year sentences for two guards, and a six-year sentence for one who cooperated. The prisoner, Larry Earvin, was mentally ill and handcuffed during the beating. He was just four months away from the end of a six-year sentence for theft.