Civil Rights Violation Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Fifth Former Jail Officer Pleads Guilty In Inmate’s Death

Another former corrections officer at the Southern Regional Jail in Raleigh County pled guilty this week to violating the civil rights of an inmate, resulting in the man’s death in March 2022.

Mark Holdren entered a guilty plea on Wednesday. He is the fifth ex-corrections officer to plead guilty in connection to the death of the 37-year-old detainee identified as Q.B.

According to court documents, when Q.B. attempted to leave his assigned pod, an officer called for backup – and several officers used unreasonable force to restrain him.

Holdren admitted he and others then brought Q.B. to a blind spot in the jail.

“His role in the beating included a number of what’s called knee strikes, basically pushing his knee on [the inmate’s] body in various places for a period of time,” said William Thompson, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia.

“This was not a one-two punch-kick type of thing. This was a continued beating that lasted for quite a period of time,” Thompson added.

According to court documents, as Holdren and other officers were transporting Q.B. to another blind spot, he “went limp and went down to the floor.” Holdren and other officers picked him up, still handcuffed, and carried him, then dropped him on the concrete floor where he was kicked again although he appeared to be unresponsive and not breathing.

The documents indicate paramedics were called to render aid, but Q.B. died from his injuries.

Holdren was indicted on six counts stemming from his role in the assault and pled guilty to one count. He faces up to 30 years in prison when he is sentenced in February.

“The victim in this case died, so there should be severe consequences,” Thompson said.

Two other ex-officers are scheduled to enter guilty pleas next week.

Former Corrections Officers Admit To Violating Prisoner’s Civil Rights

Three former correctional officers from the United States Penitentiary at Hazleton have pled guilty for their roles in the March 2019 assault of a prisoner and the cover up that followed, United States Attorney William Ihlenfeld announced Monday.

According to court documents, 42-year-old Robert David Sims of Bruceton Mills repeatedly struck the inmate, identified as B.C., in the face, head, arms and torso during a strip search, causing significant injuries. Sims pled guilty to assault resulting in serious bodily injury and faces up to 10 years in federal prison.

The documents also show Joshua David Sines, 39, of Friendsville, Maryland, admitted to falsifying reports on the incident to protect himself and Sims. He faces up to five years in federal prison.

Josiah Dandue Redd, 36, of Morgantown, pled guilty to making a false statement to a federal agent and accessory after the fact to an assault. According to the indictment, Redd told an investigator he saw the inmate strike one of the officers with a closed fist and heard the officer saying the man was biting him.

Redd faces up to five years and six months in prison.

“We expect Correctional Officers to conduct themselves with integrity and to foster safe and humane conditions of confinement for inmates. Instead, Sims violently assaulted an inmate and Sines and Redd conspired to cover it up in an attempt to avoid punishment,” said Timothy C. Edmiston, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General Mid-Atlantic Region. “These acts will not be tolerated. Perpetrators of assault and those who make false statements to cover it up will be brought to justice.”

Sims, Sines, and Redd have agreed to resign their positions with the Bureau of Prisons and to not seek or obtain employment in the future with the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, or any private prison or community corrections center that contracts to house federal prisoners.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office is seeking information from anyone who may have witnessed or been a victim of physical assault while incarcerated at FCC Hazelton. Any witness or victim to any such crimes or attempts to conceal such crimes are asked to directly contact federal prosecutors in the Northern District of West Virginia by calling 1-855-WVA-FEDS or by sending an email to wvafeds@usdoj.gov.

U.S. Attorney Launches Hotline For Information On Federal Prison

A hotline has been set up to gather more information about abuses at a federal prison in Preston County.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office is seeking information from witnesses or victims of physical assault while incarcerated at Federal Correctional Complex Hazelton.

William Ihlenfeld, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of West Virginia, said that for the past several years, his office has received allegations of and investigated civil rights incidents at Hazelton.

“We are interested in learning what correction officers know or former inmates know or members of the public know about incidents that have occurred at Hazleton, and we want those people who have information to know how they can get that information to us and we wanted to make it as simple as possible,” he said.

Ihlenfeld said his office’s goal is to enforce federal law, and the number and types of incidents coming out of Hazelton demands that more be done.

“Sometimes through enforcing federal law, we identify ways that a particular facility can be improved,“ he said. “For anyone that might be at FCC Hazleton, or a comparable complex, we’re not an entity that is set up to make those kinds of systematic changes within an institution. We’re not the Bureau of Prisons. However, if we identify something that is a problem that, if addressed, could improve the conditions within a facility, we will certainly share that information at the appropriate time.”

The hotline number is 1-855-WVA-FEDS (982-3337). Complaints and tips can also be sent to wvafeds@usdoj.gov.

Trial Set for Marshall Football Player Accused of Hitting Gay Couple

A former Marshall University running back will face trial on Jan. 26 on charges of hitting a gay couple.

The Herald-Dispatch reports a Cabell County circuit judge set the tentative trial date during a status conference Tuesday for 24-year-old Steward Butler of Lakeland, Florida.

Indictments unsealed in late May charge Butler with two felony civil rights violations and two misdemeanor battery counts.

Butler is accused of striking two men who were kissing on a Huntington street on April 5. He was dismissed from the team and no longer attends Marshall.

The civil rights violation relates to the men’s gender. Butler attorney Raymond Nolan and Cabell County assistant prosecutor Lauren Plymale agreed to submit questions to the state Supreme Court concerning whether hate crime statutes include protection for sexual orientation.