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South Dakota Civil Rights News
Tennessee Corrections Officers Indicted And Arrested On Civil Rights Charges
A two-count indictment by a federal grand jury in Nashville, Tenn. was unsealed today, charging two former White County corrections officers of violating the civil rights of an inmate at the White County Jail. The announcement was made by Wan J. Kim, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, Jim Vines, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, and My Harrison, Special Agent in Charge of the Memphis Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The jury returned the sealed indictment on June 5, 2006, against the Jail’s former Chief of Corrections, Donald R. Wilson, and former supervisory corrections officer, Stan Hawkins. Following the unsealing of the indictments, Hawkins was taken into federal custody immediately and Wilson will surrender himself within the next few days.
The first count of the indictment alleges that in May 2004, defendant Wilson confined a jail inmate in a straightjacket for several days violating the constitutional prohibition against subjecting inmates to cruel and unusual punishment. The second count of the indictment alleges that, on May 6, 2004, defendant Hawkins violated this constitutional prohibition by using a chemical agent against and beating the same inmate.
An indictment is merely an accusation, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty. Each count of the indictment carries a maximum potential penalty of ten years in prison.
In announcing the indictment, Assistant Attorney General Kim commended the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division, the FBI, and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation for their collective efforts in this investigation.
The Civil Rights Division is committed to the vigorous enforcement of every federal criminal civil rights statute, such as those laws that prohibit the willful use of excessive force or other acts of misconduct by law enforcement officials. The Division has compiled a significant record on criminal civil rights prosecutions in the last five years. Since FY 2001, the Division has convicted 30 percent more defendants of official misconduct crimes.
Definition:
Racial discrimination is present when people are treated differently than others who are similarly situated because they are members of a specific race. It can occur when individuals are treated differently because of unalterable characteristics, such as physical feature, indigenous to their race.
Disparate Treatment
Definition:
Inconsistent application of rules and policies to an individual or one group of people over another. Discrimination may result when rules and policies are applied differently to members of protected classes. Disciplining Hispanic and Afro-American employees for tardiness, while ignoring tardiness among other employees, is an example of disparate treatment.
Community Outreach Program
Definition:
Community Outreach Program is a continuous public relations approach to the achievement of the agency’s civil rights policies and objectives. The objectives of community outreach include, but are not limited to: Establishing and maintaining good working relations with leaders of minority, women's, and disabled persons' organizations; community leaders; officials of schools, colleges and technical institutions and more.
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