East Central Reporter

Redwood Law Office has announced that two cells in the Coles County Jail, referred to as “Medical Observation 1” and “Medical Observation 2,” have been demolished following lawsuits brought against Coles County and its sheriff. The law office is seeking additional plaintiffs for a class action lawsuit filed against Kent Martin, Sheriff of Coles County, Illinois (case number 25-cv-01068).

According to Redwood Law Office, individuals may be eligible to join the class if they were locked in a cell or room at the Coles County Jail without access to a toilet or drinking water at any time from February 20, 2023, through the present, and if they requested but were denied relief such as use of a toilet or water.

In 2024, Redwood Law obtained a settlement for a woman from Paris who was held in the Coles County Jail in 2020 after Edgar County’s jail was closed due to insurance issues related to not meeting minimum standards. The woman reported being confined with two others in a bare cell lacking basic amenities. She described being denied access to a toilet before being moved into small cells for an extended period. Lawsuit filings included jail records confirming her placement in one of these cells for several days.

The law office stated that although the class action suit was filed in February 2025, the demolition of the two identified cells did not begin until April 2025. For over ten years, these rooms served as holding areas for pretrial detainees on suicide watch or with medical needs and reportedly lacked toilets and accessible drinking water. Redwood Law Office claims it has received over 100 affidavits from people who say they were denied basic needs while detained there.

Reports collected by Redwood Law indicate that some detainees had no choice but to use the floor as a toilet and lacked access to hygiene supplies. Some women allegedly went without sanitary products during menstruation. Other accounts describe limited access to drinks outside meal times.

Most people held at Coles County Jail are pretrial detainees—individuals charged but not yet convicted of crimes. According to Redwood Law Office, some members of the proposed class were never found guilty or had charges dismissed but still experienced these conditions.

Citing federal case law established since 1978 and decisions by the Seventh Circuit Court of Federal Appeals covering Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin, Redwood Law notes: “Under the Fourteenth Amendment pretrial detainees are entitled to have enough water for drinking and sanitation and not to be forced to live surrounded by their own and others’ excrement. Water is vital for both health and sanitation. Dehydration affects practically every life function, including temperature regulation, digestion, brain function, toxin elimination, and oxygen distribution. All but the most plainly incompetent jail officials would be aware that it is constitutionally unacceptable to fail to provide inmates with enough water for consumption and sanitation over a three-day period.”

Redwood Law says it continues efforts regarding ongoing renovations at Coles County Jail while inviting potential class members affected by similar conditions since February 2023 to contact their office.

The law firm also points out that under Illinois law it is illegal for jails—or even animal owners—to confine individuals or animals without adequate access to toilets or drinking water.

For more information about joining the lawsuit or reporting experiences related to detention conditions at Coles County Jail, interested parties can contact Redwood Law Office directly.