Two officers from Georgia’s correction facility had to resign when the picture of a beaten teen inmate having a leash bent around his neck was posted online on Facebook seemingly with a contraband mobile phone.
According to authorities, two prisoners from the Al Burruss Correctional Training Centre involved in the March 27 incident were transferred out while Cortez Berry, the victim, is now under protective custody at a prison in another state.
However, the names of the officers haven’t been disclosed by the Department of Corrections and it is still unclear whether they faced discipline prior to quitting, according to NBC News.
The family of the victim stated that after seeing the disturbing images on Facebook they immediately went to the prison for investigation but the guards there were unaware that Berry has been beaten.
It was a horrifying revelation for the relatives of Berry that he was firstly transferred to Smith State Prison, which is quite a violent lockup but the act was portrayed by Correction officials as an emergency stopgap measure.
Currently, Berry is at Macon State Prison under protective custody.
In an official statement, the agency said that:
“In our continued efforts for the safety of our inmates, the Department transferred the other two inmates involved to other facilities. Additionally, both supervising officers involved in the incident have resigned.”
Investigation into this matter has already begun, stated the agency.
Berry was charged with juvenile aggravated assault, car theft and robbery, and was imprisoned at Burruss for violating probation.
Berry informed his aunt that just a day before his 18th birthday, some fellow inmates forced him to join the Gangster Disciples gang and upon his refusal they attacked him and took picture. His aunt Shavonda Wright complained that “no guard was there to help him.”
This case further highlights the intensity of violence in Georgia prisons and the ever-growing issue of inmates using smuggled cellphones most often to commit crimes.
This is not the first time when someone has got in trouble after posting sick image. Last month a Russian Paramedic Tatiana Kulikova was fired from her job after taking/uploading insulting selfies with dying patients.
News and Image source: NBC | Follow @HackRead