LOUISIANA
A federal jury on Thursday convicted a 41-year-old former supervisor at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, Louisiana of beating an inmate who was handcuffed, shackled and not resisting, officials said.
Daniel Davis, 41, a former Major at the prison was also convicted In a previous trial in January, Major Davis was convicted of conspiring with other officers to cover up the beating by devising a false cover story, submitting false reports documenting that cover story, tampering with witnesses, and lying under oath.
“Corrections officers are given great authority and power in our system because public safety depends on them doing their jobs well,” said Louisiana Inspector General Stephen Street. “When those corrections officers commit crimes by choosing to abuse their power, as defendant Davis did in this case, they must be held accountable, or public trust in the system suffers. The jury’s guilty verdict should send a clear message that we have zero tolerance for it and will continue to aggressively pursue these cases whenever and wherever they may arise. I wish to thank the FBI, United States Attorney Brandon Fremin and the prosecutors from the DOJ Civil Rights Division for their outstanding work on this case.”
Davis’s sentencing has not yet to be set. He is facing up to five years in prison on the conspiracy and perjury counts, ten years on the excessive force count, and 20 years for the obstruction counts, according to officials.
Four other officers—former Captains James Savoy, John Sanders, and Scotty Kennedy, and former Sergeant Willie Thomas—have all previously pleaded guilty for their roles in the beating and coverup. At Davis’s trial, Captains Sanders and Kennedy testified for the government and described the abuse and the extensive cover-up.
After hearing testimony over the course of three days, the jury convicted Davis of willfully depriving the inmate of his right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment, officials said.
The evidence showed that Davis initiated the beating by yanking the inmate’s leg chains, causing the inmate to fall face-first onto the concrete breezeway. At that point, Davis and the other officers punched, kicked, and stomped on the inmate, leaving the inmate with a bloody gash under his eye, a dislocated shoulder, broken ribs, and a collapsed lung.
“Mr. Davis abused the justice system by beating an inmate, writing false reports, and using his influence and power as a corrections officer to encourage others to lie,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Civil Rights Division.
“Charged with protecting the civil rights of others, to include those in custody, is a responsibility the FBI takes very seriously,” said Eric J. Rommal, FBI New Orleans Special Agent in Charge. “Law enforcement officers and correctional officers acting under the color of law must ensure a person’s civil rights are not violated. The jury’s decision today reinforces the FBI’s commitment that civil rights and color of law violations will not be tolerated.”