By Sandy Hodson
The Augusta Chronicle
GROVETOWN, Ga. — Three former guards at the Augusta State Medical Prison entered not guilty pleas Wednesday to charges of deprivation of rights and obstruction of justice in the alleged beating of a handcuffed inmate.
John Williams, Antonio Binns and Justin Washington were arraigned Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Augusta. Bonds of $20,000 were set for Williams and Washington, and a $30,000 bond was set for Binns, although his bond will be lowered to $20,000 if he loses his job, according to court documents.
The indictment against the three men was returned by a federal grand jury on April 7 but at U.S. Attorney Edward J. Tarver’s request, it was sealed until Williams, Binns and Washington were in custody or until their initial appearance. The indictment was unsealed Wednesday.
According to the Feb. 13, 2014, indictment, the three correctional officers attacked and beat an inmate, identified only by the initials “C.V.” He was allegedly beaten with at least one baton, according to the indictment.
Binns and Washington are charged with a second crime, obstruction of justice, for allegedly falsifying the Department of Corrections’ use-of-force report by writing “minimum amount of force was used to gain positive control.”
Deprivation of rights is a federal crime punishable by as much as 10 years in prison. Obstruction of justice is punishable by up to 20 years.
Calls to the Georgia Department of Corrections public information officers were not returned Wednesday afternoon.
The department has been scrutinized for several years and the Southern Center for Human Rights called on the Department of Justice to investigate in 2014 after a string of homicides and other violence.
Three inmates at Augusta State Medical Prison were murdered between 2011 and 2013.
According to the Southern Center for Human Rights, between 2010 and 2014, a total of 34 homicides occurred in Georgia prisons.
In February, the federal “Operation Ghost Guard” undercover operation led to the indictment of 46 correction officers at nine Georgia prisons. The two-year investigation, according to news reports, involved guards willing to take cash for bringing contraband – liquor, tobacco and cellphones – for inmates.
Copyright 2016 The Augusta Chronicle