Joshua Miner, already serving life, has been handed another life sentence after surveillance cameras recorded him strangling cellmate Andrew Ortega at Western Illinois Correctional Center. Ortega, locked up for a non-violent offense, died behind a barred door—an incident that again seals Miner’s fate behind bars.
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‘Hickory Street Killer’ gets 2nd life-sentence for killing cellmate imprisoned for non-violent crime
Photo by Abc7 Chicago
Key Takeaways:
- Joshua Miner, nicknamed the “Hickory Street Killer,” received a second life sentence.
- The new conviction arises from the strangling death of cellmate Andrew Ortega.
- Ortega had been imprisoned for a non-violent crime.
- Pixelated prison video captured the killing behind a locked cell door.
- The homicide occurred at Western Illinois Correctional Center, illustrating ongoing safety issues in U.S. prisons.
Life Sentence, Again
Joshua Miner’s future was already measured in life terms. This week it expanded by another eternity when a court ordered a second life sentence for the man known as the “Hickory Street Killer.”
A Killing Caught on Camera
“Pixilated prison surveillance video shows the very moments Andrew Ortega was being strangled behind the locked door of his downstate jail cell,” investigators told the court. The grainy footage, recorded inside Western Illinois Correctional Center, leaves little doubt about what happened: Miner’s hands around Ortega’s neck, a deadly encounter that unfolded unseen by guards until it was too late.
The Victim
Andrew Ortega was not serving time for violence. Described in court filings as a non-violent offender, the 28-year-old shared the cell with Miner, who was already imprisoned for murder. Ortega never left that room alive.
Legal Outcome
The new sentence matches the one Miner is already serving, ensuring he will remain in custody for the rest of his life. Illinois prosecutors pursued the additional punishment to acknowledge Ortega’s death and to send what they called “an unambiguous message about violence behind bars.”
Violence Behind Bars
Ortega’s killing underscores a chronic dilemma for state prison systems: how to protect inmates—especially those jailed for lesser crimes—from the violent offenders they may encounter inside. While officials have announced no sweeping reforms in response to the case, Miner’s second life term adds another grim entry to the ledger of deaths in custody.
For Andrew Ortega’s family, the ruling offers a measure of closure. For Joshua Miner, it confirms what his nickname long suggested: life, and then another life, spent behind the same locked doors.
