Associated Press
PANAMA CITY, Fla. — Trial is set to begin Tuesday for a former Florida Panhandle prison guard accused in an orchestrated beating of an inmate.
Christopher Blake Christmas has denied involvement in the August 2014 beating of 31-year-old Jeremiah Tatum at the Northwest Florida Reception Center. He will be defending himself at trial.
Christmas is one of five guards charged in the incident, which prosecutors say was part of a retaliation plan. Video from the prison allegedly showed two guards slamming Tatum face-first into the concrete floor while Tatum’s hands and ankles were restrained. Prosecutors said Christmas and other officers then jumped on Tatum and pinned him to the ground on the supervisor’s command.
The News Herald reports the other guards have all pleaded guilty to their role in the attack.