Former Mississippi Corrections Officer Sentenced for Orchestrating Assault on Inmate
| U.S. Department of Justice June 26, 2013 |
WASHINGTON—Kenny McLaughlin, 35, a corrections officer at the Stone County Regional Correctional Facility in Stone County, Mississippi, was sentenced today to serve one year in federal prison and ordered to pay restitution of $6,000 for ordering the beating of an inmate at the detention facility in violation of federal civil rights laws.
McLaughlin pleaded guilty on March 29, 2013, to willfully violating the civil rights of persons in his custody. According to court documents filed in connection with his guilty plea, on May 12, 2008, McLaughlin, while working as a corrections officer, ordered an inmate to arrange an unwarranted assault on another inmate. As a result of McLaughlin’s order, the victim was assaulted by two fellow inmates in a shower area. McLaughlin was aware of the assault as it happened but did not notify any other officer or medical personnel of the assault. The victim suffered cuts to his face, bruises to his chest, and fractured ribs.
“This sentence demonstrates that assaults on inmates whether by corrections officers personally or orchestrated by corrections officers undermine the rule of law and will not be tolerated,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Roy L. Austin, Jr. of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department is committed to prosecuting law enforcement officers who violate the constitutional rights of individuals in their custody.”
“Every citizen has the right to expect law enforcement officers to act legally and in accordance with the United States Constitution. Former Corrections Officer McLaughlin’s actions were inexcusable and should serve as a reminder that no one is above the law,” said U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi Gregory K. Davis.
This case was investigated by the Gulfport Resident Agency of the Jackson Division of the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Glenda R. Haynes of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi and Trial Attorney Dana Mulhauser of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.