Nov. 3 (UPI) — A former prison guard at a Louisiana State Penitentiary pleaded guilty for his role in the beating of a shackled inmate and of conspiring to cover it up by falsifying records and lying investigators, the Department of Justice said Thursday.
James Savoy, 39, of Marksville, La., admitted during his plea hearing that he witnessed other officers using excessive force against the inmate and failed to intervene. He also said that he helped the other officers cover up the beating “by engaging in a variety of obstructive acts and that he personally falsified official prison records to cover up the attack,” the DOJ said.
In its announcement of the plea, the DOJ did not say when Savoy will be sentenced.
“Every citizen has the right to due process and protection from unreasonable force, and correctional officers who violate these basic Constitutional rights must be held accountable for their egregious actions” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore of the Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department will continue to vigorously prosecute correctional officers who violate the public’s trust by committing crimes and to covering up violations of federal criminal law.”
Two other corrections officers involved in the incident, Scotty Kennedy, 48, of Beebe, Arkansas, and John Sanders, 30, of Marksville, La., have previously pleaded guilty in November 2016, and September 2017.
In total, the DOJ charged four corrections officers for the beating and three have pleaded guilty. Daniel Davis, 40, of Loranger, La., was also indicted in November 2016 but has not pleaded guilty.
