KEY POINTS

  • Over two years after his death, Billy Smith's case has been brought to the table again after a secret report emerged, alleging that prison guards also beat him
  • The report obtained by Injustice Watch alleged that Smith was hog-tied by prison guards and was also denied prompt treatment
  • Smith died from his head injuries and bleeding in the brain

A secret Alabama Department of Corrections report on Billy Smith’s prison-beating has emerged, suggesting that after being beaten by a fellow inmate, prison guards beat him again and hog-tied him, besides the alleged concealment of details regarding the incidents.

According to BuzzFeed News, nonprofit newsroom Injustice Watch obtained the report that unraveled details surrounding the incidents before Smith’s passing. Smith was reportedly beat up and tied by command officers at the Elmore Correctional Facility in November 2017 after first being punched by an inmate.

In the report, witnesses also revealed that Smith was left strapped in a gurney and remained untreated despite his earlier complaints of pain in the head. His nose was reportedly bleeding heavily and he plead for help before he was taken to a nearby medical facility.

At the said prison medical center, a nurse allegedly refused to treat Smith and when officers returned him to prison, he was already unconscious. He was then sent to the hospital where it was discovered that his skull was fractured and his brain had been bleeding.

26 days after the incident, Smith died from blunt trauma to the head. His mother, Teresa Smith, said that while his son was an inmate, nobody deserved to die the way he did.

The secret report further unraveled an altered office log where notes about Smith were scribbled, as well an account of an edited time card by an assistant warden that did not provide explanation as to why the time card was altered.

The alleged revelations around Smith’s 2017 death came a few weeks after two prison officers in Massachusetts were arrested for allegedly beating an inmate who was already handcuffed.

At that time, FOX News reported that indictment papers alleged prison officer Seth M. Bourget dropped a knee on the head of the inmate while officer Joseph M. Lavorato reportedly destroyed records that should help in the case.

The assault reportedly took place in June 2019 wherein Bourget also hit the inmate at the U.S. Bureau Prisons Federal Medical Center with a protective shield. The hit allegedly caused harm to the inmate.

Lavorato, meanwhile, allegedly did not report the extent of the inmate’s injuries. He also reportedly kept a recorded footage of the beating incident. The DOJ press release stated that Lavorato did all these intentionally.

Late in January, a lawsuit alleged Nicole Rathmann died at the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility after prison guards did not stop other inmates from beating her up with a sock that was packed with soap bars, The Independent reported.

The lawsuit filed in regards to Rathmann’s death states that no jail guard tried to intervene or stop the assaults against the victim during the August 2018 incident. Litigation is pending for Rathmann’s case.

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