The Illinois Prisoner Review Board chair and a member have stepped down over backlash for granting the parole of a man who fatally stabbed his ex-girlfriend’s young son less than 24 hours after they freed him. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker announced on Monday, March 25, 2024.
Pritzker announced that board chair Donald Shelter and board member LeAnn Miller stepped down after the incident. “The Prisoner Review Board [PRB] must be able to operate independently as they review enormously difficult cases,” Pritzker said.
“But I believe LeAnn Miller has made the correct decision in stepping down from her role.” Shelter and Miller stepped down in the wake of 11-year-old Jayden Perkins’ murder on March 13, 2024, which sparked outrage. The recently released man allegedly stabbed Perkins in the chest on March 13, 2024.
Crosetti Brand, 37, allegedly ambushed Perkins and his mother, Laterria Smith, less than 24 hours after the Stateville Correctional Center granted his parole. He ambushed the mother-son duo in the doorway of their Edgewater residence.
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Brand stabbed Smith, 33, in the neck, but she survived the attack. However, he fatally stabbed 11-year-old Perkins, who was “trying to protect his mother” in the March 13 incident, said the office of Cook County State’s Attorney Kimberly M. Foxx. Also, police reports say Smith has an order of protection against Brand.
Brand was out on parole during the incident, as Miller approved him for parole the day before. Reports say he served a 16-year sentence for a home invasion and has three orders of protection violations against him. Following the tragic incident, Chief of Detectives Antoinette Ursitti held a press conference.
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In the March 15 press conference, Ursitti said they granted Brand parole in October 2023 and placed him on electronic monitoring. However, while on parole, he threatened the female victim via text and also showed up at her home. Consequently, they sent him back to prison in February 2024 for parole violation.
The heinous March 13 incident elicited widespread outrage on social media. According to reports, Smith begged for an order of protection against Brand just in February. A Cook County judge scheduled a hearing about the order for March 13 and notified Brand about the hearing in prison.
Miller, however, wrote a report that approved Brand for parole on March 12. Then, he attacked Smith and her son just hours before the hearing was supposed to take place. Afterward, the Illinois Department of Corrections and the Illinois PRB claimed they didn’t know about the protection order hearing.
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However, emails obtained by CBS 2 indicate that the Department of Corrections knew about the hearing since February 22. “The Department sincerely apologies for any confusion its previous statement may have caused,” the agency told the outlet.
Shortly after the station reported the emails, Pritzker announced Shelton and Miller’s resignations. Many condemned the department’s decision to grant Brand Parole and blamed them for the boy’s death.
Also, authorities have charged Brand with murder, attempted murder, and home invasion with a dangerous weapon. Furthermore, they charged him with armed robbery, domestic battery, and other charges in connection with the stabbing incident.
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