Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1997. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
The Chicago Tribune, 435 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611 - Saturday, August 30, 1997 Edition: NORTH SPORTS FINAL Section: NEWS Page: 5 Word Count: 493
Carolyn Starks, Tribune Staff Writer. Tribune staff writers Christi Parsons and Joseph Sjostrom contributed to this article.
Yet the former inmate, Michael Blucker, 28, of Crystal Lake claimed a partial victory after jurors reported themselves deadlocked on allegations against two other prison officials. They could face a new trial.
Blucker was suing the Illinois Department of Corrections employees for $1.5 million, claiming he was infected with the AIDS virus as a result of the rapes by other prisoners in 1993 and 1994.
"I didn't expect all of them to be held accountable," Blucker said. "The others I can see because one's a doctor and the other one's a top prison official."
In the wake of the trial, Corrections Department Director Odie Washington announced Friday he will investigate the cost and legality of setting up a separate institution for inmates infected with the AIDS virus. Still, prison officials said, it is against the law for anyone to identify publicly someone else as an HIV or AIDS patient, and assigning them to such an institution might violate that law.
Washington also said that more than 2,000 new prison inmates will be tested for HIV in September and October in an effort to determine the prevalence of the virus among prisoners.
The verdict in the Blucker suit indicates jurors found insufficient evidence to hold three corrections officers, a social worker and a teacher of math and English responsible for Blucker's situation.
The jury could not reach a verdict on the two remaining prison employees: Lt. Carl Caraway, the head of the prison's internal affairs unit; and Nageswararao Vallabhaneni, a staff psychiatrist.
U.S. District Judge Paul Riley declared a mistrial in the case against those two defendants. That means Blucker can bring them to trial a second time, and his attorney, Joseph Condon, indicated Blucker would do so.
The jury deliberated almost eight hours on Thursday and Friday after four days of trial.
Blucker claimed that the Corrections Department and its employees were guilty of "deliberate indifference" to his plight. Blucker said the sexual attacks began shortly after he entered Menard in 1993 to serve a 10-year sentence for burglary and theft. He was released last January after serving 5 years.
The state's witnesses and lawyers sought to portray Blucker as a manipulative liar, who voluntarily had sex with other inmates in exchange for drugs.
Speaking before reporters outside the courthouse after the verdict, Blucker said that the trial had been tiresome but that he will continue his fight for mandatory AIDS testing in the prison system.
"There's always something positive that can happen out of everything," Blucker said. "I'm not surprised the jury was deadlocked . . . but God will take care of it."
CAPTION: PHOTO: Michael Blucker and his mother, Sue, wait Thursday outside the U.S. courthouse in East St. Louis while a jury deliberates his suit. AP photo.
Copyright 1997/The Chicago Tribune. Reproduced with permission. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the Permissions Desk, The Chicago Tribune, 435 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611.
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