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| Mass. Jail Officer Convicted in Beating Case |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 04/02/2003 |
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A federal jury convicted a former Nashua Street Jail officer on Monday and acquitted two others accused of beating inmates, then trying to cover up the assaults. The U.S. District Court jury convicted Brian Bailey, 31, of criminal civil rights violations, conspiracy to obstruct justice, obstruction of justice, and perjury related to an assault on a detainee at the jail. Bailey was acquitted of a charge of conspiracy to violate civil rights. His two co-defendants, Officer William R. Benson, 51, and Deputy Sheriff Thomas M. Bethune, Jr., 51, were acquitted of all charges related to the incidents. ''Today's verdict should send a strong message that an individual's rights do not stop at the jail cell door,'' U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan said in a statement. ''Our system of justice requires that everyone, even those charged with crimes, receive the same protections under the law including the right to be free from the use of unreasonable and excessive force.'' Just before the start of the trial, Lt. Eric J. Donnelly, 36, and Deputy Sheriff Anthony Nuzzo, 32, pleaded guilty to all charges against them in the indictment. Deputy Sheriff Melvin J. Mansucco III, 39, pleaded guilty on March 5, the first day of the trial. The indictments against the seven men stemmed from four reported beatings between June 1998 and October 1999, in which five pretrial detainees allegedly were assaulted. Judge Reginald Lindsay is scheduled to sentence for Bailey on July 7. Nuzzo's sentencing is set for June 2, Donnelly's for June 6, and Massucco's for June 17. The final defendant, Lt. Randall R. Sutherland, 45, is scheduled to plead guilty on April 15 before U.S. District Judge George A. O'Toole. Donnelly and Benson were originally charged in a one-count indictment in December 2000 with assaulting an 18 year-old pretrial detainee in 1999. In May of 2001, a superseding indictment expanded the charges against Donnelly and Benson, and adding the other five defendants. The Suffolk County Sheriff's Department runs the Nashua Street Jail, which houses people awaiting trial in Suffolk County. During the three-week trial, one man with Tourette's Syndrome described being pummeled in his cell by two officers; another said he was beaten for hiding a sandwich in a laundry bag. Defense attorneys said prosecutors they failed to provide crucial links that proved that the officers beat the inmate. The case has been part of a series of embarrassments for the sheriff's department, which has been buffeted by claims of mismanagement, criminal activity, institutional violence and sexual abuse. Sheriff Andrea Cabral was appointed last November to take over the department, just weeks after a commission appointed to investigate it a ''deeply troubled institution'' with serious management problems, widespread political patronage, poor staff morale, inadequate training, undefined hiring and promotion practices, and a lack of accountability. Cabral replaced Richard Rouse, who acknowledged problems but said he had made headway in cleaning them up. |
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