Parole board members resign following Jayden Perkins death

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Jayden Perkins was killed in cold blood while trying to desperately save his pregnant mother from a violent encounter with and man named Crosetti Brand, her ex-boyfriend from 15-years prior. BOSSIP reported on the tragedy that has cause angry public outcry and an overwhelming outpouring of support for his family.

According to a CBS2 News report, Illinois Prisoner Review Board chair Donald Shelton and board member LeAnn Miller have both resign from their posts as a result of Jaydens grisly murder. Shelton and Miller were part of the review committee who decided that Brand, a convicted felon and violent offender, deserved his SECOND parole opportunity in five months. Their incomprehensible decision lead directly to Jayden’s death and his pregnant mother’s stabbing. They should probably be sentenced to jail time if we keeping it a buck but we digress.

Democratic Illinois governor JB Pritzker spoke publicly about the resignations and Jayden’s death:

“The Prisoner Review Board must be able to operate independently as they review enormously difficult cases, but I believe LeAnn Miller has made the correct decision in stepping down from her role,” Gov. JB Pritzker said in a statement on Miller’s resignation. “It is clear that evidence in this case was not given the careful consideration that victims of domestic violence deserve, and I am committed to ensuring additional safeguards and training are in place to prevent tragedies like this from happening again.”

The system failed Jayden Perkins and his mother Laterria Smith in several ways, one of which affects thousands of people every day, most of them women. Laterria Smith sought an order of protection against Brand and that request was denied and scheduled for hearing. Brand was granted parole and the next day he carried out his attack against her and her son hours before the aforementioned hearing was set to start.

Here’s how Cook County Circuit Court Clerk’s office explained the inexplicable via CBS2

Our office transmits court orders for petitions of orders of protection and summons to appear to court to the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, per legislative direction. Due to the fact that orders of protection are often filed in civil court, many agencies do not have access to the case management system, so the service of these petitions to the respondents and the notification, when an individual is in custody, is crucial to protect victims.  The notification process when an individual is in custody is also critical to ensure that the information is accessible to correctional facilities, both jails and prisons. The Clerk’s Office provided a secondary notification because our policies are reflective of the need due past issues with orders being served in a timely manner.”

Essentially, a gap in communication and technology lead to a dead child. That is inexcusable and infuriating in 2024 where literally everything in the whole damn world is connected.