Federal Indictment Charges Thomson Penitentiary Inmate With Murder in Connection With Death of Fellow Inmate

ROCKFORD — An inmate at the United States Penitentiary in Thomson, Ill., has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of second-degree murder and assault relating to the death of a fellow inmate. 

On Dec. 15, 2021, DONTA MADDOX assaulted his cellmate, Bobby Everson, resulting in fatal injuries, according to an indictment returned Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Rockford. 

Second-degree murder carries a maximum sentence of life in federal prison, while the maximum sentence for the assault charge is ten years.  Arraignment for Maddox, 44, has not yet been scheduled.

The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Ashley T. Johnson, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert S. Ladd.

The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.  If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal sentencing statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.