Illinois lawmakers are seeking ways to penalize the use of drones to deliver drugs, cellphones, and other contraband to prison yards after seeing such cases in Ohio, Maryland and Oklahoma. A proposal by Illinois Republican Sen. Tim Bivins would add an extra year of prison to inmates involved in bringing contraband into prison with a drone.
Wisconsin and Michigan also have pending legislation to criminalize drone use over prisons. Bivins says prison officials requested the bill to be proactive, even though Illinois has yet to see a case where drones have been used for prison smuggling.
A drone delivering drugs last July to a prison in Mansfield, Ohio, triggered a fight among inmates when the package with heroin, marijuana, and tobacco was dropped in the yard.
