Michael Broadway, 51, walked across the stage at Stateville Correctional Center in November to receive his diploma from Northwestern University.
He was one of the first incarcerated students in the country to graduate from a top-10 university, according to Northwestern.
Broadway died June 19 while incarcerated at Stateville, the Illinois Department of Corrections said. A spokesperson for IDOC told WTTW News on June 25 that an investigation into Broadway’s death was ongoing.
Broadway, according to WTTW, was 18 years into a 75-year sentence for first degree murder, though he has maintained his innocence. WTTW said he was also a stage 4 prostate cancer survivor with severe asthma.
Friends and family of Broadway say deteriorated conditions at Stateville led to his death during an Illinois heat wave.
Gov. J.B Pritzker announced a plan in March to shut down Stateville after a report found several buildings in the nearly 100-year-old prison beyond repair.
But the governor didn’t provide a timeline for Stateville’s closure or a plan to transfer prisoners still incarcerated there.
James Soto, a friend of Broadway’s who was formerly incarcerated at Stateville, told lawmakers two weeks ago that inmates would be at risk if the prison remained open.
“What I was concerned about came true,” he said. “The longer you keep it up, [are] we going to lose another Michael?”
Northwestern grads say Stateville must close
Stateville is one of two prisons in Illinois that grants bachelor’s degrees through Northwestern’s Prison Education Program.
Soto and Bernard McKinley, both NPEP graduates, hosted a town hall Tuesday at Northwestern Law’s downtown campus to draw awareness to the conditions at Stateville.
At the town hall, Soto read a statement from Anthony Ehlers, a NPEP graduate who lived next to Broadway. Ehlers said that inmates called medical services after Broadway said he “couldn’t breathe.”
Temperatures in the Chicago area reached 93 degrees on June 19, according to National Weather Service data. Ehlers said it was even hotter on the top floor where Broadway and his cell were located.
Abdul Malik Muhammad, another inmate at Stateville, wrote in a statement provided to WTTW News that windows on that level had been nailed shut with plywood due to structural damage.
A medical technician took about 15 minutes to arrive, Ehlers said.
Delayed response
“When she got here she said it was too hot and she refused to come up the stairs,” Ehlers said. “This is a person who is in distress, who is having a hard time breathing, and you can’t be bothered to do your job?”
The technician came to Broadway’s cell eventually and injected him with Narcan, he said.
Robert Clautier, another NPEP graduate whose cell was near Broadway’s, said in a statement that he helped carry Broadway down the stairs using a bed sheet because the prison didn’t have a functional stretcher.
“If there was any urgency or anybody who really wanted to help him, Michael Broadway would still be alive right now,” Ehlers said.
Soto said about 70 people attended the town hall in person and 50 joined virtually.
“It showed how many people are just tired of a system that degrades, dehumanizes and treats people with complete indifference,” he said.
Broadway’s family, friends and advocates have called for Stateville to be shut down immediately to prevent future deaths.
“Summer 2024 is predicted to have the hottest temperatures reported in the history of our area,” said Sheila Bedi, a Northwestern Law professor, in a statement. “If the people currently housed there are not moved, more deaths are almost certain.”
“We are grateful for our Northwestern Prison Education Program graduates, James Soto and Benard McKinley, who took the lead on creating space at last week’s town hall for justice-impacted people to support Governor Pritzker’s decision to close Stateville Correctional Center by giving voice to their experiences with incarceration,” said NPEP Director Jennifer Lackey.
‘Heartbroken’ but not surprised
Broadway, who had served 18 years of his 75-year sentence, was working with lawyers to appeal his sentence and prove his innocence, Soto said.
Soto himself spent 42 years in prison before being exonerated in December. He said the Northwestern program gave him the ability to thrive after being released.
“I can’t help but think that Michael – given the chance to show he was innocent and get his release – he would have thrived as well,” Soto said.
Mary Pattillo, professor of sociology and chair of the Black studies department at Northwestern, first met Broadway when he took her Sociology of Chicago class.
“The class resonated with him and his experiences growing up on the South Side of Chicago,” Pattillo said. “His experiences also very much resonated with me.”
Broadway wanted to one day return to Chicago and help his community, she said.
Pattillo said when she learned of his death, she was “heartbroken,” but not surprised considering the conditions of U.S. prisons.
The thing she will remember most about Broadway: “His smile,” Pattillo said.
Editor’s note: This story was updated to include the reason for and length of Broadway’s prison term and more information about his medical conditions.
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