MARK SCOLFORO
The Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. — A state appeals court on Thursday revoked unemployment benefits for a prison guard who did not respond properly when another guard encouraged four inmates to attack another inmate.
D. Lee Martin Jr., of Greencastle, was suspended without pay from his $14.90-an-hour job at the Camp Hill state prison after the July 2005 beating, which badly injured inmate Eric Brown. Martin, fearing retaliation, hadn’t reported the attack.
After being suspended, Martin sought unemployment benefits and the state’s unemployment agency granted them. A Commonwealth Court panel, however, said Martin’s fear of retribution did not justify failing to report what happened.
At a prison system disciplinary conference in February 2006, Martin said he assumed another guard intentionally left the door to Brown’s cell open. The four other prisoners kicked, punched and beat Brown with socks containing bars of soap, according to court records.
The other guard had told Martin that Brown’s victim was the stepson of another guard, which apparently was incorrect, according to court records.
“I made the wrong decision. ... I didn’t know how to stop it by myself,” Martin said at the conference.
Lt. Steven Datchko, who has worked for the Department of Corrections for 18 years, told the Unemployment Compensation Board of Review’s referee that guards who have cooperated with misconduct investigations have been shunned or had their vehicles damaged.
“I’ve seen that done more than once,” he said.
Martin said concerns about retaliation were on his mind when the attack occurred.
“If you report something, or another officer or co-worker, your career is pretty much over,” Martin told the referee. “I’m risking my career by telling them what I have.”
The Commonwealth Court panel based its decision on a finding that Martin knowingly disregarded a prison rule protecting inmates against mistreatment.
A Corrections Department spokeswoman was not immediately able to say whether Martin is currently a guard. A home number for him could not be located and it was unclear whether he has a lawyer.
The Unemployment Compensation Board of Review has not decided whether to appeal the decision, said spokeswoman Shannon Powers.