Illinois prison guard gets 20 years for inmate beating death

By JOHN O’CONNOR
AP Political Writer

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — A former Illinois state corrections officer has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for his role in the beating death of a prison inmate in May 2018. U.S. District Judge Sue Myerscough said Thursday that 31-year-old Alex Banta of Quincy was “caught up in the culture” that condoned physically assaulting inmates. But she said there was no excuse for his treatment of 65-year-old Larry Earvin at Western Illinois Correctional Center. Banta was convicted in April 2022 of conspiracy to deprive civil rights, deprivation of civil rights, obstruction of an investigation, falsification of documents and misleading conduct.