CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Five former correctional officers in West Virginia were indicted by a federal grand jury Thursday in connection with the 2022 death of an incarcerated man who was beaten while handcuffed and restrained in an interview room and later a jail cell.
The indictments in West Virginia's southern U.S. District Court come weeks after two different West Virginia corrections officers pleaded guilty to a felony conspiracy charge stemming from the fatal beating of the same inmate, 37-year-old Quantez Burks.
The case has drawn scrutiny to conditions and deaths at the Southern Regional Jail.
Earlier this month, West Virginia agreed to pay $4 million to settle a class-action lawsuit filed by inmates who described conditions at the jail as inhumane.
Two other former corrections officers were indicted Thursday on a charge of failing to intervene in the unlawful assault, resulting in Burks' death.
Persons:
Quantez Burks, Burks, Jim Justice's, Brad Douglas, Phil Sword, Mark Holdren, Cory Snyder, Johnathan Walters —, Andrew Fleshman, Steven Wimmer, Walters, Holdren, Snyder
Organizations:
U.S . Justice Department, Southern Regional, of Corrections, Rehabilitation, Homeland Security, Southern Regional Jail, Associated Press, FBI
Locations:
CHARLESTON, W.Va, West Virginia, West Virginia's, U.S, Beaver