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| 'Horseplay' with inmate killed guard |
| By dispatchpolitics.com |
| Published: 01/06/2010 |
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Inappropriate "horseplay" with a juvenile offender and not institutional understaffing led to the death of a Cleveland-area youth corrections officer, an investigation unveiled yesterday concluded. The Ohio Department of Youth Services found that guard William Hesson, 39, died at the Cuyahoga Hills Juvenile Correctional Facility after 17-year-old inmate Hubert Morgan kneed him in the chest or abdomen as the two wrestled in a prison laundry room. Hesson's death on April 29 was ruled a homicide. The hard, blunt blow disrupted the electrical activity of Hesson's heart, triggering a condition called "commotio cordis" that caused his death, the report said. The investigation concluded that Hesson was involved in "inappropriate" wrestling and horseplay with Morgan over the course of his shift at the youth prison. Just before the incident, Hesson had Morgan in a headlock, other inmates told investigators. Nevertheless, Morgan, of Wakeman, who is now 18, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in Hesson's death. The plea allowed him to avoid trial on more serious charges of murder and felonious assault. He faces up to 10 years in prison at sentencing scheduled for Feb. 2. Regis McGann, Morgan's Cleveland attorney, could not be reached for comment. While the report did not directly blame Morgan for Hesson's death, Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Patrick J. Thomas said there is no question that the teen delivered the killing blow. Thomas said claims that the two were engaged in a wrestling match were irrelevant. "It may have been a wrestling match or it may not have been," Thomas said. "The only person alive that knows is Hubert Morgan." The Ohio Civil Service Employees Association, the union representing workers in youth prisons, said after Hesson's death that it was "shocked and saddened but not surprised" at the homicide. Conditions in state youth prisons are "a disaster waiting to happen," union president Eddie L. Parks said in a statement. But understaffing apparently played no role in Hesson's death, yesterday's report indicated. "Video evidence and witness accounts support that Hesson and Morgan were involved in inappropriate contact or 'horseplay' throughout the shift," the report said. Investigators looked carefully at video shot by surveillance cameras that showed Hesson and Morgan going into a laundry room out of sight of the camera. A few minutes later, the juvenile is seen leaving the room wearing Hesson's uniform cap and carrying his soft-drink bottle. Medical personnel were called when Hesson, who had collapsed to the floor, could not get to his feet and had difficulty breathing. Nurses reported his face was turning purple by the time they arrived. Hesson was the first juvenile-corrections officer to die in an assault in the 28 years of the Department of Youth Services. Read More. |
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