ColorLines is reporting that seven Georgia prison guards were arrested for their involvement in the December beating of Terrance Dean, a 29-year-old prisoner in Macon State Prison, after a highly publicized prison strike. According to the prisoner-advocate organization Concerned Coalition to Respect Prisoner Rights, witnesses said that the day after a fact-finding delegation visited Macon, Dean was dragged out of his cell on Dec. 16 and beaten unconscious by Correctional Emergency Response Team guards.
The coalition suspects that it was retaliatory abuse because of their visit during a strike in which thousands of inmates stayed in their cells and refused to report for work duty to call for compensation for their prison labor, better educational opportunities, nutrition and medical care. Prisoners also say that during the strike, the heat and hot water were turned off and inmates were beaten.
Christopher Hall, Ronald Lach, Derrick Wimbrush, Willie Redden, Darren Douglas Griffin, Kerry Bolden and Delton Rushin were charged with aggravated battery and violation of oath of office, Atlanta's WALB reported. Their arrests were the result of an inquiry by the Georgia Bureau of Investigations at the request of the Department of Corrections. A coalition of prisoner-rights advocates and allies demanded that the GBI investigate the case earlier this year after they heard reports of retalitatory violence against prisoners.
In this particular instance, how can you tell the difference between the guards and the prisoners? How rogue do you have to be to beat people mercilessly, while knowing that you're under a microscope? The alleged actions of the guards demonstrates their lack of regard for basic human rights, one of which is to speak truth to your situation.
Read more at ColorLines.
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