3 Florida guards sentenced to prison for inmate beating

Jacksonville (US), Mar 2 (AP): Three former Florida prison guards were given sentences ranging from two to three years of incarceration for assaulting an inmate who was handcuffed, had been pepper sprayed and showed no signs of resistance, federal authorities said Tuesda.

Written By : PTI | Updated at : 02 Mar 2022 03:41 AM (IST)

Jacksonville (US), Mar 2 (AP): Three former Florida prison guards were given sentences ranging from two to three years of incarceration for assaulting an inmate who was handcuffed, had been pepper sprayed and showed no signs of resistance, federal authorities said Tuesday.

The three on-duty correctional officers at the Hamilton Correctional Institution Annex in Jasper, Florida, last summer had pleaded guilty to violating the civil rights of the unnamed inmate.

During a hearing in federal court in Jacksonville, Coty Wiltgen was sentenced to 37 months in a federal prison.

Ethan Burkett was given a sentence of 31 months and William Shackelford was given a sentence of 25 months in prison.

According to prosecutors, the guards took the inmate to an outside area of the prison, away from cameras, after he had pushed Burkett while he was chasing another inmate in March 2020.

Wiltgen kicked the inmate 15 times in the face to the point that the inmate lost consciousness and called him a racial slur, while Shackelford hit the inmate from the side while kneeing him in the back, according to the US Attorney's Office.

Burkett also hit and punched the inmate, according to federal authorities.

“Burkett, Wiltgen, and Shackelford knew that the use of force was unnecessary and excessive, counter to their training and completely unjustified at the time that they used, and watched others use, force against the victim," the US Attorney's Office said in a news release. (AP) VM VM

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