BATON ROUGE — A former correctional officer at Louisiana’s maximum-security prison has pleaded guilty to participating in the beating of a handcuffed and shackled inmate. Thirty-year-old John Sanders, of Marksville, was one of four officers charged in the inmate’s alleged beating at Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola in January 2014. Federal prosecutors say Sanders repeatedly … Read more
MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. – The controversy surrounding the Macomb County Jail took another turn this week as a new multi-million dollar lawsuit has been filed over an inmate’s death. Daniel Byrd, 42, overdosed on prescription pills while in custody in November 2015. The Local 4 Defenders investigated Byrd’s death as part of an ongoing look … Read more
Guards at Smith State Prison didn’t try to stop troubled inmate Richard Tavera from hanging himself until four had assembled outside his cell, videos obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution show. By then, more than seven minutes had passed since the first report Tavera was attempting suicide, and nothing could be done to save his life, … Read more
A Video was released from a Nevada jail that shows the last minutes of a mentally ill Reno man’s life before he died during a struggle with deputies who pinned him to the floor with a spit hood covering his head during booking procedures. During the struggle, deputies can be seen taunting 35-year-old Justin Thomson … Read more
A former Utah sheriff and two officers charged in an inmate-abuse investigation at a rural jail pleaded guilty Wednesday in deals arranged with prosecutors. Prosecutors said a former Daggett County deputy who stunned inmates with a Taser and used them for police-dog training may serve jail time himself after he pleaded guilty to aggravated assault … Read more
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A former New Hampshire federal corrections officer has pleaded guilty to accepting bribes and providing cellphones, tobacco and marijuana to inmates in exchange for money. The U.S. Attorney’s Office says 37-year-old Latoya Sebree, who worked at the Federal Correctional Institution in Berlin, pleaded guilty on Tuesday. Prosecutors said investigators examined inmates’ … Read more
Four California sheriff’s deputies have been accused of “sadistic and terrorizing acts” against inmates, including encouraging prisoners to throw urine and feces at each other, laughing at an assault victim seeking help, strangling an inmate into unconsciousness and intimidating witnesses. The felony assault charges against four Alameda County deputies, accused of victimizing eight prisoners, have … Read more
Norman McIntosh spent more than 15 years in prison for a 2001 murder based on the testimony of three people who claimed they saw him fire the fatal shots from a gray Oldsmobile. But the case unraveled last year after all three eyewitnesses — two of whom were 12 years old at the time — … Read more
DUBLIN — The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office arrested four of its own deputies Thursday on charges of mistreating inmates at Santa Rail Jail, which included allowing the throwing of feces by inmates, the office announced. The allegations stem from January and include claims that four sworn deputies facilitated and allowed an inmate to throw bodily … Read more
EVERETT, Wash. – A man who struggled with officers when he was arrested and later at the Snohomish County Jail died early Thursday morning in a restraint chair. The Snohomish County Multiple Agency Response Team, which comprises detectives from several agencies, is investigating. Authorities say Everett police arrested the man, 35 and from Everett, for … Read more
An 18-year-old Bronx resident claims in a new lawsuit that workers at a juvenile detention center have been using their teen jailbirds as “sex slaves.” Franklin Maldonado, who turns 19 in a few weeks, said he was placed at the Horizon Juvenile Center in the Bronx in 2013 and 2014, when he was just 15 … Read more
A man who spent 25 years behind bars for a crime he did not commit has filed a civil rights lawsuit seeking $125 million from the city of Detroit and police officers he claims framed him. Desmond Ricks, 51, was released from prison in May after new tests available supported his claims that Detroit police … Read more