(7 of 10)
But jurors never heard that Yoder had been given multiple, seemingly haphazard diagnoses. For instance, bipolar disorder was diagnosed in 1991, but that diagnosis vanished from his records in 1998--even though Yoder never took part in treatment. Jurors also never heard from one of Unsell's potential witnesses, a Chester employee who wouldn't testify for fear of losing his job. That employee, who retired not long ago from his position as a guard supervisor but still fears retribution if identified, told me that Chester staff members sometimes provoke Yoder in hopes that he will become violent and provide grist for his next commitment hearing. "[The administration] had a vendetta against him because he beat them in court," says the former supervisor. "Some guards take his property. They taunt him." The ex-employee says Yoder never started fights on his unit. "I'm an ex-police officer. I know violence. Rodney's not violent."
After a while, Yoder all but gave up on the courts--and then got creative. A decade earlier, he had been transferred out of Chester to federal custody to be prosecuted for sending threatening mail. So now he tried the same tactic. He says the letters weren't sincere and were intended only to get him sent to federal prison. That strategy may seem silly--or nuts--but a Chester psychologist wrote a report in 1993, before most of the letters were sent, that clearly outlined what Yoder expected from the letters and the consequent trip to federal prison: "1. greater freedom, 2. association with non-demented individuals, 3. earning an income..., 4. having a definite release date."
The letters themselves range from terrifying to ludicrous. "I have worked out a half a dozen methods to kill someone," says a 1993 letter to a judge. "I don't want to do this. But if I must to end a lifetime of torture, I believe I can." A 1996 letter claims he had "solicited [a local woman's] murder from two Iranian nationals ... The contract is already purchased." Similar letters went to "maybe 100" people, Yoder says. He says he often wrote them with a carbon sheet underneath and sent copies to prosecutors. In 1996, Yoder even sued a prosecutor for not charging him; a judge had to remind Yoder that he "has no constitutional right to be prosecuted." He stayed at Chester.
By then, the relationship between him and the facility was poisoned--and not only because Yoder never cooperated with treatment. Equip for Equality, a Chicago-based nonprofit for the disabled, has twice accused Chester of making false entries in Yoder's records; Chester staff allegedly lied in the 1999 reports by saying Yoder had called an Equip for Equality office and threatened violence. At the time, Chester director Hardy stood by the first report. He never responded to the second and now says he doesn't recall the incident.