After a four-day trial, a federal jury Thursday convicted Eric Nantell, a former Eastern Kentucky Correctional Complex (EKCC) sergeant, of one count of deprivation of civil rights for failing to intervene to stop an inmate’s assault, two counts of obstruction for misleading state investigators, and one count of making false statements to an FBI special agent.
Six other officers previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the assault and cover-up, and three of them testified for the government during the trial.
“The jury’s verdict closes the book on an unfortunate chapter at this correctional center,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “All seven officers who participated in the brutal assault of an inmate or the coordinated cover-up that followed have now been brought to justice. The Justice Department will continue to hold law enforcement accountable for unlawful behavior that deprives those in our jails and prisons of their civil and constitutional rights.”
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“Despite being a supervisor entrusted with the custody and care of others, Nantell stood by while officers beat a man, tried to cover up an investigation and lied to law enforcement,” said U.S. Attorney Carlton S. Shier IV for the Eastern District of Kentucky. “This disgraceful conduct not only caused injury to a victim but was an unqualified breach of the public trust and a grave disservice to law enforcement. Holding these officers accountable is an important step in restoring the public trust in law enforcement and protecting the civil rights of everyone.”
A non-violent prisoner who was lying face-down, handcuffed, with his legs shackled, and segregated in a shower cell was attacked by three officers, two of whom were from the prison’s internal affairs department.
When the attack started, Nantell was watching the officers kick and punch the prisoner in the head and back repeatedly as he stood at the shower door. Nantell watched the beating in silence for more than twenty seconds, then turned to leave as the officers kept beating the prisoner.
Supervisors at EKCC and state detectives from the Kentucky State Police launched an investigation into the abuse within hours of the prisoner reporting it. Nantell participated in a cover-up plot to conceal the truth alongside other officers. He had lied to FBI special agent and officers from both agencies as part of that cover-up.
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In connected cases, six former officers entered guilty pleas. On July 26, 2023, former EKCC officer Nathan Cantrell entered a guilty plea to four counts of obstruction of justice for trying to conceal the assault, while former EKCC officer Randall Dennis entered a guilty plea to one count of deprivation of civil rights stemming from the inmate’s assault.
On April 10, 2023, former EKCC supervisor Randy Nickell entered a guilty plea to three counts of obstruction stemming from his attempts to conceal the same assault, while former officer James Benish entered a guilty plea to one count of deprivation of civil rights for failing to act to protect the inmate.
Due to his assault of the prisoner, former EKCC officer Jeffrey Havens entered a guilty plea to one count of deprivation of civil rights on August 29, 2022.
Ultimately, due to his attempts to conceal the assault, former EKCC officer Derek Mays entered a guilty plea to four counts of obstruction of justice on July 11, 2022.
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The Kentucky Internal Investigations Branch (IIB) independently examined the inmate’s claims in a separate administrative investigation. IIB concluded that there had been an assault and that multiple officers had given false accounts of what they had witnessed. Within a year of the assault, many of the officers involved in it were fired, demoted, or voluntarily resigned from their positions with the Kentucky Department of Corrections as a result of their findings.
On June 10, a sentencing hearing is planned. For the deprivation of rights offense, Nantell could get a maximum sentence of ten years in prison; for obstructing state investigators, she could get a maximum sentence of twenty years; and for lying to the FBI, she could get a maximum sentence of five years in prison. The United States Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory considerations will be taken into account by a federal district court judge before determining any sentences.
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