GEORGIA – Three former corrections officers at the Macon State Prison were convicted for beating an inmate and covering up the incident, federal officials said.
A federal jury convicted Christopher Hall, Ronald Lach and Delton Rushin on Friday, authorities said.
Lach was convicted of violating the inmate’s rights, conspiring to obstruct justice after the assault and obstruction of justice. Hall and Rushin were convicted of conspiring to obstruct justice and obstruction of justice.
The trio will be sentenced in August.
Three other defendants, James Hinton, Derrick Wimbush and Tyler Griffin, were acquitted of related charges.
“Eight former corrections officials from Macon State Prison now stand convicted for their involvement in beating inmates and in the coordinated cover-ups that followed each assault,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels for the Civil Rights
Division. “These officers betrayed the public trust by using their official positions to commit violent civil rights abuses and then tried to cover up their crimes. The Department of Justice will continue to prosecute vigorously corrections officers who use their power to violate federal law.”
These cases were investigated by the FBI
Lach was one of several prison guards who participated in a retaliatory beating against an inmate as their form of punishment for the inmate’s prior misconduct.