Guard Pepper-Sprayed Handcuffed Inmates, Lied About It

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PHILADELPHIA – Christopher Knight, a former guard at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility, finally admitted today to a pattern of brutalizing inmates and lying about it to cover his tracks. The 47-year-old pleaded guilty to five counts of violating inmates’ civil rights and two counts of falsifying official records, facing up to 90 years behind bars.

The feds indicted Knight last May after an investigation revealed a string of unprovoked attacks between January and March of 2023. Court filings paint a sickening picture: Knight repeatedly blasted subdued, often handcuffed, inmates with pepper spray – not as a means of control, but as a deliberate act of violence.

On January 8th, Knight unleashed pepper spray on a victim already lying face down, hands cuffed behind his back, continuing to spray even after the man was secured. Two days later, he hit another handcuffed inmate with the spray while being escorted by another guard. The attacks continued; on March 20th, Knight sprayed an inmate simply writing on a piece of paper, then kept spraying him while he writhed on the ground. Five days later, another inmate, face down on the floor, was also targeted.

Knight didn’t just assault these men, he actively tried to bury the evidence. He deliberately left out key details of his actions in official use-of-force reports, attempting to legitimize his brutality on paper.

The FBI led the investigation, with help from the Philadelphia Department of Prisons. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Priya DeSouza and Michael Miller are prosecuting the case. Sentencing is scheduled for July 15th.