Jury Finds for Former Illinois Prison Psychiatrist

Federal court jurors have ruled in favor of a former Tamms Correctional Center psychiatrist who was sued in federal court by an inmate.

The jury said Thursday that Dr. Rakesh Chandra, the former psychiatrist at Tamms, was not deliberately indifferent to the mental health needs of 35-year-old inmate Anthony Gay.

Gay contended that after he mutilated his arms, neck, legs and genitals during 2004, he should have been treated with medication and therapy. Instead, he said, he was strapped naked to a metal bed frame for as long as 32 hours without food and sometimes without water.

But Chandra’s attorney, Theresa Powell, of Springfield said placing Gay in restraints was all that kept him from further harming himself.