PERRY COUNTY, Ill. — Mark C. Maxwell, an acting lieutenant at Pinckneyville Correctional Center, confessed in federal court to not intervening while his subordinates brutally attacked a restrained inmate on April 24, 2022. Under federal law, officers have a duty to intervene if a fellow officer uses excessive force.
“I failed to uphold my duty, and I take responsibility for that,” Maxwell admitted.
Charged with deprivation of civil rights, Maxwell faces up to 10 years in prison for standing by as the inmate suffered a fractured orbital socket, a partially collapsed lung, and needed 25 stitches.
Officers Cord A. Williams, 35, and Christian L. Pyles, 25, charged in the same incident, have pleaded guilty to various offenses, including violating civil rights and obstructing justice.
Following an investigation by the Illinois State Police, Maxwell will receive his sentence on February 21, 2023.
