Following the deaths of three men from Hoopeston at the Public Safety Building in the past three years, relatives say they hope things will change for the inmates that are currently incarcerated.
A group gathered Saturday night in front of the building, holding electric candles and signs that included words of support and photos of Jamie Moore, Tommy Dalton and Josh Edwards, all of whom died while in custody.
Butch Moore organized the rally in memory of his son. He wants the officers to see the jail inmates as human beings and not just criminals.
“Tommy was a good kid; he’s gone,” Moore says. “Josh was a good kid. They had their problems; that’s why they were in jail. They weren’t perfect, but you don’t deserve to die just because you’re in jail, and I pray things will change.”
Another of Jamie Moore’s family members who organized the event was his daughter, Bayleah Moore. She laments at the fact that he is not around to see his young grandchildren grow up.
“I have a three-year-old daughter,” she explains. “He passed away when she was a month and a half old, so he really didn’t get to meet her face-to-face. It’s just hard knowing that my kids won’t know (the person) who I knew.”
43-year-old Jamie Moore passed away at the jail on August 1, 2018 a few hours after getting into an altercation with correctional officers. He had been facing charges of aggravated battery. An autopsy later determined that Moore died of heart disease and an enlarged heart, and that he did not die as a result of the fight.
Dalton, who was 33 years old, was found dead by officers on February 16, 2020. He was in the jail on drug charges. His family sued the Vermilion County Sheriff’s Department earlier this year, claiming that he was denied medical treatment while in jail. Moore’s family also filed suit against the sheriff’s office after his death.
The third inmate to die recently was the 43-year-old Edwards. Correctional officers found him unresponsive inside his cell on April 11. An autopsy has been performed on Edwards’ body, but Vermilion County Coroner Jane McFadden says the results have not yet been determined.
Butch Moore says he hopes certain aspects of the inmates’ treatment will change, such as food and medical care. He says he also wants the current inmates to know that somebody loves and is thinking about them.
