Anthony Gay: 97-year prison sentence for the theft of $1 | Fight Back!

Contents:

• AFTER 22 YEARS OF 'PSYCHOLOGIL TORTURE' IN SOLARY CONFEMENT, ANTHONY GAY FIGHTS FOR STATE LAW RTRICTG ITS USE
• ANTHONY GAY AWAS FED SENTENCG WHILE PLANNG ANTI-SOLARY NFEMENT EVENT

AFTER 22 YEARS OF 'PSYCHOLOGIL TORTURE' IN SOLARY CONFEMENT, ANTHONY GAY FIGHTS FOR STATE LAW RTRICTG ITS USE

After spendg 22 years solary nfement, Anthony Gay is tryg to make sure no other prisoner Illois has to experience the same level of trma that he went is the face of the state's Anthony Gay Isolated Confement Act, a bill veloped over the last 10 years that would lim solary nfement to no more than 10 days per six-month perd.

"The worst part is beg trapped a cell 24/7, not beg able to receive social ntact and human ntact, " said Gay, who was released om prison 2018 after reprentg himself over 80 appeals before he was able to reta the help of a 's path to solary nfement began when he was 20 years old. "After spendg 22 years solary nfement, Anthony Gay is tryg to make sure no other prisoner Illois has to experience the same level of trma that he went, of Rock Island, Illois, said he was arrted durg his probatn for drivg whout a license. "I had no ia that I was about to be tortured for s, " he servg time, Gay was volved another fight, which land him solary nfement.

"Gay said he was the cell for 24 hours a day and that ocsnally he'd be let out for an hour. Lashawn Ford drafted the Anthony Gay Isolated Confement said he don't thk people unrstand the importance of human ntact.

ANTHONY GAY AWAS FED SENTENCG WHILE PLANNG ANTI-SOLARY NFEMENT EVENT

Lashawn Ford to the solary nfement reform bill that now bears Anthony Gay's name. "When we learned about Anthony Gay's suatn and how impacted him mentally, and what he had to do to get out of solary nfement, was vastatg, " said Ford. Chigo, IL - Sce 2018, Anthony Gay has bee a symbol of the stggle agast wrongful nvictns Illois.

This year, Rock Island police brought Gay to feral urt on a bog weapon charge.

Gay explaed, “The police robbed me and jumped on me, and I reported what the police did to me. Frank Chapman of the Chigo Alliance Agast Racist and Polil Reprsn, who attend a pre-trial hearg for Gay on May 9 Peoria, said, “I’ve never heard of somebody reprentg themselv and gettg a hung jury a feral trial. Chapman addrsed one other velopment the Anthony Gay story that helps to expla why the feds are g down on him.

WBEZ reporter Shannon Heffernan brgs the story of Anthony Gay, who was sentenced to seven years prison on a parole vlatn but end up wh 97 years add to his sentence. Gay liv wh ser mental illns, and after time solary nfement, he began to act out.

Gay acknowledg he did some of those thgs but says the prison put him circumstanc that ma his mental illns worse – then punished him for the way he acted. Wh help om Chigo-based lawyers, Gay appealed to the lol state’s attorney. Anthony Gay:They say we’re like plants; we’re eher growg or dyg.

Shannon Heffern…:Gay lov havg a phy turn of phrase, other people’s quot but also his own exprsns. Anthony Gay:In fact, I’ve got a book that I’m workg on lled Quotable Quot and Noteworthy Comments, bee they’re spiratnal, right?

Anthony Gay:When you’re put a cell like that, you start to psychologilly bounce off the wall. Anthony Gay:I have a sayg I say when I talk about Pontiac, solary nfement Pontiac. I don’t want to be too gory here, but I do want to drive home how bad got for Gay solary and the self-harm he did.

Shannon Heffern…:Gay says the same speratn that led him to self-harm, that same need for some kd of stimulatn, any kd of stimulatn, is also what led him to act out agast staff. Gay has said he knows horrifi officers; but the thg is, his mental state at the time, he wanted them to react.

Anthony Gay:I ed to do this at one pot, fight the cell extractn team to feel alive. Gay basilly says the prison put him segregatn, which ma his mental illns worse.

Shannon Heffern…:Gay’s close iend Christopher Knox spent a lot of time segregatn too.

Gay was charged for another alleged battery that occurred jt after that first liquid se. Shannon Heffern…:Now, Gay adms he acted out agast staff, threw liquids on them, stuff like that. Gay said the guard got so mad he tried to strangle him through the bars, and Gay knocked the guard’s hands away.

He said Gay, unprovoked, reached out through the bars and h him the face. The se was sent to the prosecutor, lol state’s attorney Tom Brown, and Gay was charged wh battery. Anthony Gay:They expect to be a slam-dunk se, which all s mostly are for him.