Chicago—In a resounding final victory for the more than 12,000 mentally ill people incarcerated in Illinois prisons, a final decision in Rasho v Baldwin was issued December 20th by federal Judge Michael M. Mihm. The Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) was ordered to remedy the widespread inadequacies in its care to inmates.

The order finalizes the provisions from a decision earlier this year in the groundbreaking representation that redressed human rights violations against thousands of mentally ill individuals.

“This has been a long time coming,” said Harold Hirshman, a senior litigator at Dentons, and lead pro bono counsel in the case. “We have spent more than 11 years fighting to ensure that the mentally ill in the state prison system receive the proper and human care to which they are entitled under the Constitution.”

Hirshman has been leading the effort, working in coordination with legal nonprofit agencies Uptown People’s Law Center and Equip for Equality on the groundbreaking representation redressing human rights violations against thousands of individuals.

The 18-page decision rejects claims from IDOC officials and finalized provisions of a permanent injunction that was issued by Mihm in October. Earlier this year the judge ruled that IDOC’s failure to provide adequate treatment constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. Under the judge’s ruling IDOC as 90 days to increase mental health professional staffing levels.

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