Warden and brother of La. governor sued over jail inmate’s beating death in 2012
16th January 2018 · 0 Comments
A federal lawsuit filed Tuesday claims that a Louisiana sheriff and a jail warden failed to protect a prisoner from being beaten to death by a dozen other inmates last year in an attack that an eyewitness compared to a “shark feeding frenzy,” The Associated Press reported.
Relatives of the slain 40-year-old prisoner, Tommy Joe Smith, sued Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff Daniel Edwards and the warden, Stuart Murphy, for the death of their loved one who was jailed last January for a probation violation stemming from his 2015 conviction for a sex crime that isn’t specified in the lawsuit.
Staff at the parish jail in Amite didn’t segregate Smith who lived in Independence, La. from violent prisoners even though they knew his criminal history increased his risk of being attacked, the lawsuit claims.
The sheriff and warden “acted with deliberate indifference” in failing to adequately monitor inmates, provide secure cells or properly identify and provide secure housing for “at-risk inmates,” the suit alleges.
At night, the suit claims, inmates were free to move between cells. The suit says 12 inmates attacked Smith about 1:45 a.m. on Jan. 31, 2017, shortly after he was confined in a two-tier dormitory housing roughly 21 inmates.
The sheriff’s office told The Associated Press in a statement last year that jail staff members regained control of the dormitory “within minutes” of the attack.
“Unfortunately, due to the number of individuals involved in the altercation, along with the incident occurring within a secured environment, our victim was limited with an escape,” Edwards said in the release. “This type of environment provides many limitations when taking into account the safety of staff, emergency medical responders, as well as the inmates themselves.”
A coroner concluded Smith died of blunt force trauma to the head with bleeding in his brain.
“Smith’s family was advised by the funeral home that due to the extent and severity of the damage to Smith’s head, an open casket would not be possible,” the suit says.
In May, a grand jury indicted 11 men and one juvenile on manslaughter charges in Smith’s death. A spokeswoman for District Attorney Scott Perrilloux said those charges are still pending against all 12 defendants.
Edwards, whose brother is Gov. John Bel Edwards, was first elected sheriff in 2003. Dawn Panepinto, a spokeswoman for the sheriff’s office, said neither the sheriff nor his office comment on pending litigation.
The suit, filed in the Eastern District of Louisiana, seeks unspecified damages. A great-grandmother and mother of Smith’s two children are named as plaintiffs.
In other criminal justice news, Louisiana State Police say two correctional officers are accused of battery on an inmate.
Master Trooper Scott Moreau said in a news release that Catahoula Parish Deputies Charles Ray LeBlanc, of Sicily Island, and Ryan Shane Mayo, of Jonesville, were arrested Monday.
Both were released Monday: LeBlanc on $20,000 bond and Mayo on a bond of $6,700.
Moreau said both face charges of malfeasance in office. LeBlanc also faces charges of second-degree battery and Mayo of assault and simple battery.
It was not immediately known if either has an attorney.
Moreau said the sheriff’s office asked state police in December to look into battery on an inmate.
He would not comment on details such as the inmate’s injuries.
Moreau says the investigation is continuing.
Finally, authorities in Louisiana say detectives busted two employees for bringing drugs and cellphones into the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola and arrested another employee for sexual malfeasance.
A Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections news release says 22-year-old Amber Sanders was charged with felony introduction of contraband and had resigned during the investigation. During a shakedown, investigators found three cellphones, among other items.
Investigators found a large cache of drugs on 24-year-old Keyshawnna Rogers during a routine employee shakedown. She was also charged with felony introduction of contraband and resigned during the investigation.
Authorities say 23-year-old Diamond Nicholson was booked on felony sexual malfeasance. An investigation found that Nicholson had sex with an offender on several occasions. She also resigned during the investigation.
It’s unclear if the accused have lawyers.
This article originally published in the January 15, 2018 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
