Fatal Assault in Federal Prison Sparks Indictment
Orlando, Fla. – In a shocking turn of events, a former Federal Bureau of Prisons corrections officer has been indicted on federal civil rights charges related to a fatal assault on an inmate in March 2005. Michael Kennedy, a former corrections officer at the Coleman Federal Correctional Complex in Coleman, Fla., was charged with one count of conspiring with others to violate the federal civil rights of inmate Richard Delano and one count of violating Delano’s civil rights by arranging for another inmate to assault Delano.
The indictment, unsealed today, stems from a February 2005 agreement between Kennedy and fellow Bureau of Prisons corrections officer Erin Sharma to move Delano into the cell of another inmate. The grand jury alleges that Kennedy and Sharma knew the inmate was likely to assault Delano, the move was in retaliation for a prior altercation between Delano and Sharma, and Sharma encouraged the inmate to assault Delano.
According to the indictment, Kennedy moved Delano into the inmate’s cell on March 1, 2005, and the inmate assaulted Delano three days later. Delano later died from the injuries he suffered during that assault.
Kennedy faces up to life imprisonment and a $250,000 fine for each of the two counts. The case will be prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bruce Ambrose from the U.S. Attorney’s Office and Trial Attorney Douglas Kern from the Civil Rights Division.
Sharma, a co-conspirator, was found guilty of federal civil rights charges related to this incident in 2009 and sentenced to life in prison.
An indictment is merely an accusation, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Case Details
* Defendant: Michael Kennedy
* Charges: Conspiring to violate federal civil rights, violating federal civil rights
* Location: Orlando, Fla.
* Date: February 28, 2005
* Sentence: Up to life imprisonment, $250,000 fine
Related Federal Cases
- Paul Tillis, Violating Civil Rights, Florida 2005 · Florida
- Anthony Sargent, Civil Disorder, Florida 2021 · Florida
- John B. Sawyer, Violating Civil Rights, Charleston SC, 2004 · Florida
- Jarrod Anthony Yates, Civil Rights Violation, Oklahoma 2006 · Florida
- Benjamin Haskell, Civil Rights Violation, Massachusetts 2008 · Florida
Key Facts
- State: Federal
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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