WILLIAMSON CO., Ill. - Williamson County authorities are being very cautious about releasing information regarding a jail battery that occurred Saturday, but our sources are advising that the victim was none other than the man accused of beating his own son so badly that the baby died.
Here's what Williamson County Sheriff Bennie Vick has issued in a press release:
The Williamson County Sheriff's Office is investigating a battery that occurred in the Williamson County Jail.
On November 24, 2018, Williamson County Correctional Officers were notified that an inmate had been battered by one or more other inmates.
This inmate was taken to a hospital for treatment of injuries received and then returned to the Williamson County Jail.
As this is an active investigation, no additional information will be released at this time.
Despite the caution, our sources have advised that the victim is Devin O'Daniell, the 25-year-old who was arrested this past Friday after it was alleged that he battered his own 3-month-old son. The baby was pronounced deceased on Monday following a flurry of online posts by the mother of the infant, over which several threads it was forwarded that O'Daniell had been beaten while in jail.
It's commonly known that most inmates, either in jail or in prison, despise child abusers and will take out their frustrations on such. However, any inmate who is so beaten, regardless of the cause but especially if there's a measure of "jailhouse justice being applied," has the right to sue the facility in which is occurred, and said "justice" could also harm the prosecution of the case, as counties have a tendency to not charge crimes against people who have even a hint of a viable civil tort in a court of law. So those in Williamson who are jumping up and down in glee might better check themselves and hope that O'Daniell doesn't get a real attorney specializing in Constitutional rights to be secure against cruel and unusual punishment (which all inmates have), because that invariably causes taxes to go up, and effectiveness of jails go down....and, it might mean that he would get off with a slap on the wrist.
This is just the latest in the dysfunction surrounding the case of the deceased infant; the mother of the child posted somewhat-horrific images of herself on Facebook while the baby was kept alive over the weekend, and made sure media knew that the baby's organs had been donated...right before she subsequently plead for "privacy."
It's unclear where O'Daniell is being held at this time, nor what his condition is.