East Central Reporter

There are nine inmates sentenced in Effingham County set to be released from prison during the second quarter of 2025, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections.

The inmate being released that served the longest time was Richard B. Marschke for drug induced homicide. Richard B. Marschke spent more than 10 years incarcerated.

According to the Illinois Department of Corrections, Illinois spends about $45,828 a year per incarcerated person. In a 2023 study by the Prison Policy Initiative, the state's incarceration rate was at 433 per 100,000, higher than every industrialized country, except the United States. When compared with its surrounding states, Illinois was the lowest. Kentucky and Missouri have rates over 700 per 100,000.

Another study by the Prison Policy Initiative highlighted that the number of unconvicted individuals was more than two times higher than that of convicted individuals, possibly one of the leading causes of prison population growth in the state.

Most prison inmates are released on some condition of supervised monitoring upon reentering civilian life. This monitoring can last from 1 year to the rest of someone’s life.

Name	Offense	Supervised Release Date	Holding Facility
James A. Traxler	Burglary	04/09/2025	Western Illinois Correctional Center
Randy A. Otten	Sex off fail to report annually	04/16/2025	Lawrence Correctional Center
Richard B. Marschke	Drug induced homicide	04/20/2025	Pinckneyville Correctional Center
Mickey L. Johnson	Pred crim sex asslaut/Victim <13	05/14/2025	Taylorville Correctional Center
Wally Nichols	Meth manufacturing/15<100 gr	05/18/2025	Shawnee Correctional Center
Robert J. Wesselman	Possession of meth< 5 grams	05/23/2025	Western Illinois Correctional Center
John M. Durbin	Agg battery/Peace officer	06/03/2025	Southwestern Illinois Correctional Center
Kaleb Godert	Possession of meth< 5 grams	06/12/2025	Lincoln Correctional Center
Shawn M. Wolff	Possession of meth< 5 grams	06/12/2025	Lincoln Correctional Center