20 officers beat bipolar black inmate to death – and none of them

Last week, the New York Times reported that inmates at the Clinton County Correctional Facility in Dannemora claimed they were beaten and choked with plastic bags following the escape of David Sweat and Richard Matt as officers sought information to recapture the inmates.

Samuel Harrell, 30, died of a homicide at the hands of 20 correctional officers and none of them have faced any punishment. Rather, the records showed, they told the ambulance crew that Mr. Harrell probably had an overdose of K2, a synthetic marijuana. Witnesses said about 20 officers repeatedly kicked and punched him.

Following the incident, several inmate witnesses say they have been punished with solitary confinement or threats of violence for speaking with Harrell’s family, attorneys and others, the Times reported.

Another inmate described seeing Harrell at the bottom of the stairs “bent in an impossible position”, after being either dragged or thrown down the stairs.

Inmates said that there are no surveillance cameras in the area where the incident took place.

The autopsy report indicated homicide as the manner of death.

Building 21, the area where Harrell died, has a history of violence, including harassment and provocation by officers.

In July, another inmate, Rickey Rodriguez, said that officers beat him so severely that he lost his two front teeth and had to be hospitalized.

That’s the probe the correctional association wants expanded to include the whole system. Interviewed a little more than a week after he was released from prison, Mr. Rodriguez, who was serving time for attempted murder, was still covered with cuts and bruises, and the white of his right eye was stained red with blood. Authorities have not confirmed the prison officer identities.

State Police reportedly plan to turn over evidence related to Harrell’s death to the Dutchess County DA’s office in the “very near future”, and a spokesman told the paper that “anyone found to have engaged in any misconduct or in any legal violations will be disciplined and prosecuted”.

Another months-long investigation into conditions at Rikers Island documented 129 cases in 2013 where inmates were beaten so badly by corrections officers that they required emergency treatment.