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Table of Contents

Ex-Prison Guards Plead Guilty to Beating Inmate

Three former Hamilton Correctional Institution Annex correctional officers have pleaded guilty to brutally beating an inmate in their custody, in violation of his civil rights.

Ethan Burkett, 25, of Live Oak, FL, Coty Michael Wiltgen, 31, of Live Oak, FL, and William Story Shackelford, 24, of Valdosta, GA, each face a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison.

According to court documents, on March 3, 2020, while on duty at the Hamilton Correctional Institution Annex in Jasper, Florida, Burkett, Wiltgen, and Shackelford struck an inmate multiple times while he was lying handcuffed on the ground.

The victim, who had pushed Burkett off his path earlier that day, was then pepper-sprayed by Wiltgen and handcuffed. The officers then escorted the cooperative and compliant victim out of the dormitory to an outdoor area at HCI, out of camera view, and made the victim fall to the ground.

Shackelford then held the victim down on the ground with his knee in the victim’s back to keep him from moving and struck the victim in the side. Wiltgen kicked the victim in the face approximately 15 times. When Burkett arrived outside, he went up to the victim and hit him twice with an open hand to the upper back and punched the victim’s body.

The victim was screaming during the assault and was knocked unconscious by Wiltgen kicking him in the face. The officers’ actions caused the inmate to suffer multiple injuries. Burkett, Wiltgen, and Shackelford knew that their use of force against the victim was unnecessary and excessive, counter to their training, and completely unjustified at the time that they used such force and/or watched others use such force against the victim.

This case was investigated by the Florida Department of Corrections Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ashley Washington.