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Ex-Corrections Officer Pleads Guilty to Civil Rights Violations
A former supervisory corrections officer in Tennessee has pleaded guilty to violating the civil rights of an inmate he brutally assaulted in 2019.
Kenan Lister, 43, a former security threat group coordinator at the Trousdale Turner Correctional Facility in Hartsville, Tennessee, admitted to punching, kicking, and striking an inmate multiple times in his head, chest, and torso after the inmate was subdued and not resisting.
The assault left the inmate with fractured ribs and a punctured lung. After the assault, Lister failed to provide medical care to the inmate or seek help from others, instead leaving him locked in a holding cell and filing a report that omitted any mention of the assault.
The incident occurred on August 30, 2019. Lister pleaded guilty to two civil rights offenses: deprivation of rights under color of law for using unlawful force on an inmate and being deliberately indifferent to the inmate’s medical needs.
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Civil Rights Division said, ‘The defendant abused his power as a supervisory corrections officer by brutally assaulting a person in his custody. Officers who willfully use excessive force in our jails and prisons not only violate the Constitution, they erode the public trust in law enforcement.’
Kenan Lister faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, as well as a maximum of three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentencing is scheduled for August 17.
The case was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda J. Klopf for the Middle District of Tennessee and Civil Rights Division Trial Attorney Michael J. Songer.
Key Facts
- State: Tennessee
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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