Three former officers at the Mississippi Department of Corrections were each sentenced to a few years of prison time for punching and kicking a prisoner in the head while striking her with an aerosol canister, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday. According to the Associated Press, Jessica Hill, LaToya Richardson, and Nicole Moore were sentenced this week, after previously pleading guilty to assaulting the prisoner in July 2019 at the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility. The officers punched and kicked the prisoner in the head, even though she was lying in a fetal position and not resisting. Hill also struck the prisoner with an aerosol canister.
The beating continued until other prison workers intervened. “The defendants in this case ignored their sworn duty to protect inmates and chose violence instead,” said Todd Gee, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi. “We will continue to prosecute those who abuse their positions of authority and violate the civil rights of inmates.” All three defendants were fined $1,500. Hill and Richardson were sentenced to three years and one month in prison with two years of supervised release. Moore was sentenced to two years in prison with two years of supervised release.