Two former sheriff’s deputies received sentences on Friday for their involvement in the death of Matthew Ajibade, a mentally ill Georgia man, Reuters reports.
Jason Kenny received a one-month jail sentence—to be served on weekends—plus three years of probation. The court gave Maxine Evans six years of probation.
Greg Brown, a former jail nurse, received a three-year suspended sentence for making a false statement.
A Savannah, Ga., jury cleared the former Chatham County sheriff’s deputies of involuntary manslaughter last month in Ajibade’s death. Instead, the jury convicted Kenny of cruelty to an inmate. The jurors found Evans, his former supervisor, guilty of public records fraud and perjury.
Reuters reports that Chris Oladapo, Ajibade’s cousin, provided a written statement on behalf of the family through their attorney: “Whatever sentence is handed down here today makes no difference. These three people are just pawns, and those in leadership, most culpable, will be left unpunished.”
Ajibade, 22, died in an isolation cell last New Year’s Day. A Chatham County coroner’s report ruled his death a homicide—listing “blunt force trauma” as the cause of death.
According to the news agency, court testimony revealed that the Nigerian student was tased multiple times while restrained in a chair. NBC obtained graphic video that shows Ajibade in his underwear being tased in his groin area. Authorities fired nine deputies for the incident, including Evans and Kenny.
Ajibade’s family maintains that he was having a manic episode, caused by bipolar disorder, when his girlfriend called police. His girlfriend said that she informed the police about his mental illness.
The police said that they arrested Ajibade for domestic violence, battery and resisting arrest. A deputy suffered a broken nose in the altercation, officials reported.