Posted on 05/10/2007 2:35:22 PM PDT by Sleeping Beauty
8 Former Prison Employees Accused Of Abuse
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Prosecutors issued arrest warrants on Tuesday for eight former prison employees accused of abusing inmates, including forcing some to clean toilets with their tongues.
The eight were among 13 prison employees who had already been fired from the 605-inmate medium and minimum security at the Hendry Correctional Institution in the Everglades. The previous warden and an assistant warden resigned, and three others were reassigned after an inmates was beaten and choked by guards in March.
State prisons chief Jim McDonough said the warrants include charges of battery and failing to report inmate abuse against former guards William Thiessen, Phillip Barger, Randy Hazen, Gabriel Cotilla, Kevin Filipowicz, Ruben Ibarra and Stephen Whitney. Fired guard James Brown was charged with grand theft.
"These former employees were involved in a series of dehumanizing and degrading behaviors," McDonough said, noting that some inmates were given choices of eating their food off the floor or providing sexual favors to guards.
"We had cases where inmates were compelled under threat of force to clean a commode with their tongues," McDonough said. "These were improper, illegal heinous and despicable acts and it was done apparently in an organized and conspiratorial fashion."
None of the eight men could immediately be reached for comment on Tuesday. Thiessen, Barger, Hazen and Whitney's phone numbers were unlisted. Nobody answered at a number under Ibarra's name. A number listed under Cotilla's name was connected to a fax machine, and there was not enough information to locate a number for Brown, who has a common name.
It was not known on Tuesday whether any of the men had hired attorneys.
Four guards were fired two days after Sgt. Bruce Sooy noticed several fresh bruises on inmate Charles Gundlah's neck on March 14. Officials said Gundlah was removed from his cell and taken to an area out of sight of security cameras and beaten on the head and choked into unconsciousness by guards after he filed a grievance complaining about his treatment.
Gundlah is serving a life sentence for first-degree murder and Sooy has been subsequently promoted to major.
McDonough, who has spent most of his 15 months in charge of the state's massive corrections operation cleaning up one scandal after another, said the FBI and U.S. Attorney were also looking into civil rights violations.
Just two weeks ago, McDonough's predecessor as the head of Florida's prison system, James Crosby, was sentenced to eight years in prison for taking thousands of dollars in kickbacks from a prison contractor. A top Crosby aide, Allen Clark, was sentenced to 31 months in prison for his involvement.
Clean? Now the toilets are all covered with saliva!
Hmmm...
Sounds like maybe ex-Marines DIs!
That is, Old Corps—(pre-1960s)
Sounds like there are some real scum working in the corrections biz.
“Fired guard James Brown was charged with grand theft.” Who when questioned about this sad affair said, “HAH! I feel good!”
Wow. I thought I had heard of everything.
Wow. Gross. Wow.
(....runs looking for barf bag)
Needs to become a movie.
Sounds like a cross between Deliverance and Cool Hand Luke.
Mmmmm..licking toilets vs. panties on the head. Abu-Graib prison sounds more like the ‘Paris Hilton-like’ hotel resort.
Gitmo is the 5 Star Grande Deluxe then.
yikes- I can’t imagine much worse than being a police officer in jail, except for being a police officer in jail for abusing prisoners.
When the District used to use Lorton Prison most of the guards were relatives of the Prisoners. Dope was easier to get in prison than on the street.
Sorta like “America’s Most Wanted” and real-life cop shows are among the most popular viewing in the slammer.
The Guards become the Criminals.
I hope these punks get locked up and placed in the general population.
I am sure life will be very interesting for these creeps when they find themselves on the other side of the bars.
No one can accuse the guards of not supervising enviromentally safe methods of cleaning toilet bowls. After all...that ‘Tidy Bowl’ stuff is full of harsh, earth destroying chemicals. Lick on....
Good heavens, isn’t anyone going to defend this as “no worse than a fraternity initiation?”
ping
I happen to ENJOY having panties on my head, thanky kindly. Being stuck in Abu Graib sounds like a drunken Saturday night in the Draka household.
I'll PASS on the toilet licking, though - that's nasty.
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