CHICAGO — The mother of 11-year-old Jayden Perkins, who was fatally stabbed in a horrifying March 2024 domestic violence attack, has issued a searing open letter to Gov. JB Pritzker. She accuses the state of using her son’s name to promote policy reforms while simultaneously working to dismiss her negligence lawsuit in federal court.
Laterria Smith, who was seriously injured during the attack, says the state’s public praise for reforms in her son’s name is hollow — especially as attorneys for the Illinois Department of Corrections and Prisoner Review Board attempt to evade legal responsibility behind the scenes.
Fatal Attack After Early Parole Sparks Outrage
Jayden was killed on March 13, 2024, by Smith’s ex-boyfriend, 37-year-old Crosetti Brand — a man released on parole less than 24 hours earlier despite Smith’s repeated warnings to authorities. Brand had previously served half of a 16-year sentence for a 2015 domestic assault and had been ordered to stay away from Smith and another victim.
In the weeks before the murder, Smith had called police and alerted the parole board after Brand violated her protection order and tried to break into her home. Despite those warnings, the Prisoner Review Board voted to release Brand again on March 12, citing insufficient evidence to hold him.
The following morning, Brand was waiting outside Smith’s building. He fatally stabbed Jayden and wounded Smith in a brutal attack witnessed by her younger son, Kameron.
“I trusted the system. I tried everything I could to keep my family safe,” Smith wrote in her open letter. “But the Chicago Police Department, the Cook County Sheriff, the Illinois Department of Corrections, and the Illinois Prisoner Review Board all failed us.”
Brand was convicted in June and is awaiting sentencing.
Mother’s Lawsuit Met With Silence and Resistance
Smith filed a lawsuit in March accusing state agencies of negligence in allowing Brand’s release. According to a report by CWB Chicago, state attorneys are now fighting to have her case dismissed.
Despite this legal resistance, Gov. Pritzker and other officials have repeatedly invoked Jayden’s name while touting reforms to the Illinois Prisoner Review Board. Smith and her legal team say this is deeply hypocritical.
“At the same time the state claims credit for reforms passed in Jayden’s name, it is telling the federal court that it bears no responsibility,” said her attorney Cozette Otubusin.
In March, just days after Jayden’s death, two members of the Prisoner Review Board — including its chair — resigned under pressure.
A Plea for Accountability, Not Just Applause
In her open letter, Smith pleads for real accountability from the Pritzker administration. She urges the governor to stop using her son’s name in speeches while denying her family justice in court.
“Please tell your lawyers and agencies to settle this case instead of fighting us. Let us start to heal,” she wrote. “If this tragedy was enough to change the law, why isn’t it enough for the State to take responsibility?”
Smith’s letter has begun circulating widely online and among Chicago advocacy networks, raising renewed questions about the state’s responsibility in high-profile parole cases — and whether recent reforms are rooted in meaningful justice or political optics.
Do you believe Illinois should accept responsibility in Jayden Perkins’ case? How can the state balance reform with real accountability? Share your thoughts in the comments on ChicagoSuburbanFamily.com.
