East Central Reporter

There are four inmates sentenced in Clay County set to be released from jail in April, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Garrett S. Cosner, who served the longest sentence among them, spent more than two years incarcerated for an offense recorded as 'possession of meth, under five grams'.

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 jail growth in the state.

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

Name	Offense	Supervised Release Date	Holding Facility
Emily S. Denning	OBSTRUCTING JUSTICE	04/02/2025	Decatur Correctional Center
Garrett S. Cosner	POSSESSION OF METH< 5 GRAMS	04/12/2025	Menard Correctional Center
Jeremy W. Carter	METH DELIVERY<5 GRAMS	04/17/2025	Graham Correctional Center
Dakota L. Cosner	CRIM DMG TO PROP $300-10000	04/21/2025	Graham Correctional Center