A quick warning, this podcast has descriptions of violence.

Can you walk me through what happened that day?

Uh, yeah. Several inmates had assaulted correctional staff in Wesson, Illinois,

which caused the statewide shake now.

In September of 2017,

Vanoco Washington was locked up at Western Illinois Correctional Center in Mount Sterling, Illinois.

Guards were all across the state, came to the prison to do a search for contraband.

Washington says things with staff had been particularly tense, and after the search,

some guards came back to his wing.

And they started using their sticks banging on the doors,

telling everybody to get up and step out of the sales.

Washington says guards lined up around the cell house.

One of the officers stood in the middle.

He started making a speech.

You motherfuckers starting to believe the chalk and put your hands on us and get away with it.

That's bullshit.

Man, we going back to cracking heads like we was doing in old times.

He further says that only cow was bully on an intimidate people who they feel

cannot fight them back.

I started laughing. It was uncontrolled hers. I just laughed.

Laughing because the guards had shields, helmets, and sticks.

Washington says the guard making the speech called him to the front of the wing.

...