By C1 Staff
CHICAGO — Staff at the Cook County jail had to get creative to stop an inmate, diagnosed with severe schizophrenia, from gouging out his own eyes.
USA Today reports that the man was picked up in California and transferred back to Illinois after it was discovered that there was a prohibition against travel outside the Chicago area.
While he was being detained for transfer, he gouged out one eye with his fingers.
“He wanted to get rid of the visions,” said Sheriff Tom Dart, describing the man’s psychological struggle. As soon as the inmate was brought back to Cook County, he set to work on getting rid of his other eye.
Staff at the jail used a hockey helmet and mitten-like gloves to prevent the inmate from further injuring himself.
In May the inmate entered into a legal settlement that acknowledged his mental illness.
“Here was someone horribly mentally ill, who should have been in a mental health setting, not a jail,” Dart said. “But that is where he’s at.”
The inmate is currently incarcerated with the Illinois DOC and is eligible for parole in July. His name has been withheld due to health-related privacy restrictions.