US guards jailed for New York inmate assault

Six jail guards were sentenced to prison today for savagely beating an inmate at one of the largest municipal jails in the United States.

The former assistant chief of security who ordered the assault of Jahmal Lightfoot, who had been convicted of armed robbery, was jailed for six and a half years over the July 11, 2012 beating at New York's Rikers Island.

Another correction officer was jailed for five and a half years. Four other guards were jailed for four and a half years each.

The defendants were convicted in June after a 12-week trial on a string of charges including first-degree attempted gang assault, first-degree attempted assault, falsifying business records and official misconduct.
 

Two other guards were sentenced to 500 hours of community service.

"I hope these sentences will deter those who think a uniform and a badge gives them license to brutalize inmates or cover for officers who do," said Bronx prosecutor Darcel Clark.

The trial heard how then assistant chief of security, Eliseo Perez, ordered subordinates to kick Lightfoot's teeth in at a time of record violence at the notorious New York jail.

The officers beat and kicked him in the head "like an animal," leaving him with trouble breathing and blood coming out of his nose and mouth, their trial heard.

Lawyers for the defendants presented no witnesses, arguing that the prosecution failed to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.

Elected officials have called for the closure of the New York complex, which houses thousands of inmates, amid a national campaign against police brutality and urging criminal justice reform.

In 2014, a federal investigation uncovered what prosecutors called a "pervasive and deep-seated culture of violence" at Rikers Island and called the facility a "broken institution" for teenage inmates.

Rikers Island is one of the largest municipal jails in the United States with an average daily population of between 10,000 and 14,000. Most inmates are in pre-trial detention.