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| New Mexico Prison Cover-Up Alleged |
| By Albuquerque Journal |
| Published: 05/28/2001 |
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Four former employees of Wackenhut Corrections Corp. have been charged with crimes in connection with a Dec. 21, 1998, incident at a privately run prison in Hobbs, New Mexico. Two have been charged with using excessive force against an inmate and then covering up the incident, according to indictments returned recently by a federal grand jury. The charges stem from the incident at the 1,200-bed Lea County Correctional Facility, run by Wackenhut, in which an officer and a supervisory lieutenant allegedly assaulted inmate Eric Duran and kicked the inmate repeatedly in the head. Later, the corrections officers and two other employees met in a conference room and allegedly agreed on a common cover story - that the inmate struck one of the officers twice in the face with his fist and tried to bite the officer. Then, according to an allegedly fabricated story, a struggle with the guards followed and Duran fell and hit the back of his head on a window sill. The case was investigated by the FBI and pursued by prosecutors from the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division after a complaint was filed by Santa Fe attorney Mark Donatelli, who has represented inmates in long-running federal litigation over prison conditions. The incident was reviewed and reported in December 1998 to Wackenhut officials by a Hobbs security warden who noted what appeared to be a black scuff mark behind Duran's right ear. 'He (Duran) could have easily died from being kicked in the head so many times, and he almost did,' said Donatelli, noting the inmate was flown to an Albuquerque hospital after the beating for treatment of his head injuries. Donatelli said Duran suffered permanent injuries that contributed to chronic headaches and impaired vision. 'I think this will be a major step in preventing beatings of New Mexico prisoners in the future,' Donatelli said. Lea County Correctional Facility Warden Joe Williams confirmed that the four men indicted are no longer Wackenhut employees but declined to comment specifically on the case because of the potential for future litigation. |
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He has blue eyes. Cold like steel. His legs are wide. Like tree trunks. And he has a shock of red hair, red, like the fires of hell. Hamilton Lindley His antics were known from town to town as he was a droll card and often known as a droll farceur. with his madcap pantaloon is a zany adventurer and a cavorter with a motley troupe of buffoons.