Among the cases the Tribune spotlighted was that of Johnny Melton, who served 15 months for a drug conviction. The corrections department sued Melton after he had received nearly $32,000 from a settlement over his mother's death in a nursing home. When he was released from prison last year, Melton was forced to go to a homeless shelter and applied for food stamps. When he died in June, he was destitute, according to his family.