The Pennsylvania justice system is publicly in chaos. Our Attorney General Kathleen Kane vowed to end the corruption in the justice and political systems of Pennsylvania. I voted for her because I would also like to see an end to all the corruption polluting our legal system. The impact of this clean up is huge.
"Breaking The Silence" Broken Systems
2 ex-guards convicted of mistreating inmates; 3rd acquitted
Jurors in York County on Friday convicted David Whitcomb Jr., 30, and Daniel Graff, 40, of official oppression, criminal conspiracy and harassment but acquitted Mark Haynes, 28, of similar charges.
Prosecutors say the three forced the inmates to engage in a range of activities for their entertainment, from eating a spoonful of cinnamon to taking pepper spray to the face, in exchange for food and other privileges. Defense attorneys argued that other current or former inmates made up the allegations.
Deputy Prosecutor Kelley Nelson said the prosecution was "ecstatic" by the convictions but disappointed that Haynes was acquitted, although she said he was less culpable than the others because he appeared to be following their lead.
The defendants declined comment after the verdict. Hayne's attorney, Chris Ferro, said he and his client are thankful for the acquittal, while Graff's attorney, Steve Rice, said he needed to talk to his client to "evaluate where we are and where we want to go."
Nelson took jurors through a timeline of what she called "circus antics" that she said happened around May 2013 in a supply closet where there was no surveillance video. She said inmates were bribed to wrestle each other, to allow themselves to be punched or hit in the arms and legs or to allow themselves to be "choked out" by Graff and Whitcomb.
Police said after one fight, the inmate who lost also lost his privilege to work in the prison hallways. One inmate, state police said, "was challenged to drink a gallon of milk in an hour, eat a spoon full of cinnamon ... snort a crushed up candy bottle cap, drink a bottle of water with pepper foam in it, and eat fruit with the peels still on them. When he completed a challenge he would get lounge food and coffee."
Nelson told jurors that inmates have the right to be treated with respect by the corrections officers guarding them, "not to be treated like a bunch of circus freaks."
Defense attorneys said the inmates had motive to lie, including not incurring the ire of prison officials. Rice suggested that prison officials wanted someone criminally charged after learning of the allegations because "it's damage-control time."
Ferro said inmates frittering away time in prison have "nothing better to do" than tell, and make up, stories.
"It's a complete fabrication. ... Clearly the lack of evidence proves it," Ferro said. "Don't ever forget, (prison) is an 'us and them' situation." http://m.heraldcourier.com/news/virginia/ex-guards-convicted-of-mistreating-inmates-rd-acquitted/article_f0381e49-12ba-59cc-baf7-50d4583cec8f.html?mode=jqm
New York Prison Guards Instigated Attack on Inmate and Engineered Cover-Up
But a state investigation of the 2014 attack found that there was much more to it. The inquiry concluded that it was in fact instigated by corrections officers to punish Mr. Thorton, apparently because he had complained about prison staff members and would talk to senior prison officials during their rounds, according to records obtained by The New York Times. The investigation also found that the officers stood by during the attack — one even watched from outside the cell — and then engineered an elaborate cover-up, the records show.
But the harsh dynamics of prison life are clear.
The records do not go into detail about why the other inmate, Raffi Mata, attacked Mr. Thorton on behalf of the officers. But the arbitrator in Mr. Dysard’s case found that as the officer escorted Mr. Mata to Mr. Thorton’s cell, he insulted Mr. Thorton and told Mr. Mata, “Do what you have to do.”
Mr. Mata testified at one of the hearings that the officer had told him he should “take care of business.” Mr. Mata told the hearing officer, according to the opinion, that meant “I should fight the inmate” and the corrections officers “would take care of me.”
“I went to the new cell where the inmate was showering and we started fighting,” Mr. Mata testified. “I threw the first punch and hit him on the left side of his face by his left eye.”
Mr. Thorton sustained minor injuries in the assault.
After the fight, one of the officers got Mr. Thorton to sign a false statement saying he suffered his injuries during a fall in the shower, records show. Then, another officer persuaded an inmate to report falsely that Mr. Thorton had talked of plotting against the officers.
Mr. Mata was later made a porter, he testified, a “privilege you get when you’re good.”
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/01/08/nyregion/new-york-prison-guards-instigated-attack-on-inmate-and-engineered-cover-up.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore-iphone-share&_r=1&referer
"I just needed somebody to talk to, somebody who coulda
helped me find another way. I never heard of any other
options, or I wouldn’t be here. Kids like me, we don’t
know nothin’ but the streets. We need to know there’s
something else out there – but we just don’t.
– A CHILD SEX TRAFFICKING SURVIVOR
We must center the voices and experiences of youth in #sextrafficking policy. #SB851 #SafeHarbor, not only cops but those public defenders and interviewers for the public defenders
http://nywf.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/NYWF_Sex-Trafficking-of-Minors.pdf
No comments:
Post a Comment