CHICAGO ( WGN ) — The family of an inmate brutalized inside Cook County Jail has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Sheriff’s Office.
Attorneys representing the family of Johnny Hendrix, beaten to death in August of 2023 inside the hospital wing of Cook County Jail, noted the jail staff’s indifference to the danger posed by the suspect now charged in his murder.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Oct. 30, attorneys with the Law Offices of Al Hofeld, Jr LLC released surveillance video of personnel responding to the commotion outside of the jail cell before Hendrix’s death .
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Attorneys claim five inmates were inside the cell, including Hendrix and Daquan Houston. Lawyers claim Houston had a nearly “10-year history of repeated violence against not only inmates but numerous corrections officers” inside the jail. Houston was also severely ill, attorneys added.
The lawsuit goes on to state that Houston killed Hendrix without provocation by stomping him repeatedly.