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| Inmate charged with assaulting witness |
| By Rochester Democrat and Chronicle |
| Published: 12/15/2003 |
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Terrance Stinson has a lot of reasons to dislike Sherman Green. And to possibly hurt him. In August, Green, 25, of Rochester, was one of a string of witnesses who testified against three men, including Stinson, in federal court and helped secure Stinson's conviction for dealing drugs and violently robbing other drug dealers. Stinson, 29, of Rochester, is scheduled to be sentenced in January; he faces a prison term of 50 years to life. Facing drug charges himself in a separate case, Green likely figured he would be kept away from Stinson while incarcerated. However, the two ended up together at the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility in Batavia in November and, federal prosecutors allege, Stinson assaulted Green. A federal grand jury last week indicted Stinson on charges that he retaliated against a witness who testified against him in a federal court proceeding. Stinson was arraigned last Monday and pleaded not guilty. Stinson's attorney, Phillip Hurwitz, said last Tuesday that Stinson denies the charges. Still, Hurwitz said, the two should never have been allowed contact. "If the informants who testified at (the federal) trial were at Batavia, it borders on professional malfeasance to knowingly place Terrance in Batavia in the same facility with those who testified at his trial on the government's behalf," Hurwitz said. Under federal law, the assault charge carries the same maximum penalty - life in prison - as the crime for which Stinson was convicted, Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank Sherman said in court. The U.S. Marshals Service handles the transport of federal inmates either awaiting trial or incarceration in federal prisons. Stinson had been held at the Monroe County Jail, which contracts with the Marshals Service to hold detainees, but he was transferred to Batavia in November. Green was being held there after being sentenced to 12 years for his drug-related crimes. Officials with the Marshals Service and the Sheriff's Office would not explain this week why Stinson was moved. The jail has a system to ensure that inmates who are threats to one another are kept separated, said sheriff's spokesman John Helfer. Federal officials say they try to ensure the safety of their witnesses. When potential witnesses and those they may testify against are housed in the same facility, it's essential to keep them separated, said U.S. Attorney Michael Battle. |
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