For nearly four decades, Brother Kevin—born Kevin Smith, also known as Yusuf Muhammad—has been incarcerated in Illinois prisons. He has survived the hardships of confinement by drawing strength from his faith in Allah (God) and the Teachings of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, as exemplified and taught by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan.
“I’ve been free mentally since 1997,” he said. “The Teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad saved me. Minister Farrakhan showed me how to walk this path.”
His spiritual journey began at Pontiac Correctional Center, where he was introduced to the Nation of Islam by an Orthodox Muslim imam who recognized the transformative power of the Teachings. Tapes of Minister Farrakhan and regular study of The Final Call became Bro. Kevin’s lifeline.
“Brother Kevin has consistently attended Nation of Islam religious services I conducted on behalf of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan,” said Brother Abdullah Muhammad, the Student National Prison Reform Minister of the Nation of Islam.
“He established inmate study circles upon being transferred from Stateville. He always used the flag of Islam to form inmate study groups, as he is doing right now.
“The Minister’s example—his sacrifice, his clarity, his embodiment of the word—showed me the way,” he said. “Not just how to talk it, but how to live it.”
Now 59, Bro. Kevin is fighting a different kind of battle: not against inmates or time, but against Stage 3 chronic kidney disease—and a prison healthcare system, he says, has failed to provide proper treatment, even as his life hangs in the balance.
“This is a life-threatening disease,” Bro. Kevin told The Final Call in an exclusive phone interview from Danville Correctional Center. “I found out about it not from the prison, but from a rheumatologist at Carle Hospital earlier this year.”
According to his account, medical staff at Stateville and Danville correctional centers had documented troubling lab results for years, yet failed to inform or treat him appropriately. Despite repeated sick call requests and follow-ups, Bro. Kevin says the system delayed treatment and allowed his condition to deteriorate.
He has not remained silent. Bro. Kevin formally filed a grievance detailing what he calls medical neglect, naming specific doctors, staff, and institutional breakdowns. Reading from his handwritten statement, he said:
“I have officially filed an institutional grievance complaint against the medical healthcare department in Danville Correctional Center. Although the grievance that I have filed is being delayed because Wexford Health Sources Inc. has failed to replace the employment job position of the healthcare unit administrator who abruptly quit her professional job position.
Currently in Danville Correctional Center, there is no one to adequately review my grievance for this life-threatening disease I have now.”
The Final Call asked the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC), which handled medical grievances at Danville during the vacancy of the healthcare unit administrator, when and how Bro. Kevin’s (Yusuf Muhammad’s) prescriptions and medical history were transferred and renewed after his move from Stateville;
For a copy of the written policy prohibiting cost from influencing medical treatment; and for budget records detailing medical spending at Danville over the past three years.
In its response, IDOC reiterated its commitment to constitutionally required care, stated that medical records and prescriptions are transferred between facilities, and that grievances are processed even during staffing transitions, as well as that treatment decisions are based solely on clinical need. The department did not provide names, dates, documentation, policy language, or spending records requested.
Through Public Information Officer Naomi Puzzello, IDOC issued the following statement to The Final Call:
“The Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) is committed to ensuring that all individuals in custody receive constitutionally required medical care. While privacy protections prevent us from discussing any individual’s specific medical history, IDOC policy requires that all medical decisions align with established clinical standards.
Transfers between facilities include the transfer of medical records and prescriptions to ensure continuity of care. Medical grievances are handled in accordance with departmental procedures, even during staffing transitions. The Department does not consider cost when determining medical care. Treatment decisions are based solely on clinical need.”
The Final Call also reached out to Wexford’s Wendelyn Pekich, who declined to respond by press time.
The Nation of Islam has long called for the release of Muslims unjustly imprisoned and for fair trials for Black men and women, consistent with Point No. 5 of The Muslim Program of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, published on the inside back page of The Final Call.
Point No. 5 states in part: “We want freedom for all Believers of Islam now held in federal prisons. We want freedom for all Black men and women now under death sentence in innumerable prisons in the North as well as the South.”
With the Teachings of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, as taught by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, the Nation of Islam Prison Reform Ministry helps educate and transform the lives of brothers and sisters incarcerated behind bars. Minister Farrakhan has taught, educated and spoken to inmates around the world.
The Nation of Islam believes that all believers held in federal prisons be freed, that Black men and women facing death sentences in prisons across the country be granted justice, and that anyone tried in America be judged by a jury of their peers from their own communities.
The Nation of Islam views systemic neglect, racial bias, and mistreatment inside prisons as part of the broader oppression of Black people in America, and maintains that spiritual and moral rehabilitation through the Teachings can transform prisoners into productive contributors to their communities.
“There’s no real accountability,” Bro. Kevin said. “Even my prescriptions—blood pressure meds, arthritis shots—are delayed or denied. I’ve gone months without them. I’ve been here eight months and haven’t seen the doctor once.
“Allah has tested me,” he said. “But He has also carried me. And I’m still here.”