Guard to Testify in Inmate Beating Trial
July 20, 2001
A corrections officer has agreed to testify against his coworkers in a criminal prosecution for the 1999 beating death of inmate Frank Valdes. This is a major accomplishment for prosecutors who have been unsuccessful in procuring the testimony of other guards due to a "code of silence" observed among this tight-knit community of corrections officers. Some guards refused to testify out of fear for their personal safety and careers.
Raymon C. Hanson agreed to testify that the official account of Valdes' removal from his cell is false. Hanson helped four other officers remove Valdes from his cell on July 17, 1999. He originally went along with other officers' claims that they followed protocol for extracting a violent inmate. Hanson was not charged in the incident. Pending his testimony, Hanson is in protective custody at an undisclosed location.
According to the officers, Valdes was unable to walk after being extracted from his cell. He was taken to the infirmary where no serious injuries were found. Valdes was then taken to a solitary cell, where he was later found dead.
Attorneys for the officers claim that Valdes broke many of his ribs, his jaw and sustained various other injuries by throwing himself against the cell floor. However, a medical examiner found that his body was covered with bruises and even had one in the shape of a boot on his upper torso. According to court records, the bruise matched a set of boots later found at one of the corrections officers' homes.
An inmate witness who spoke with State and Federal investigators about the Valdes incident requested court-ordered protection from the judge presiding over the trial. He claims that since he spoke with authorities in mid-1999, he has endured physical abuse at the hands of corrections guards and has been transferred to several different corrections facilities.
-- Article Courtesy of InjuryBoard.com
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