Shronda Covington, Civil Rights Violation, Virginia 2021

Grimy Times Exclusive: Former Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Lieutenant Shronda Covington, 49, has been sentenced to 12 months in prison followed by 12 months of home confinement and three years of supervised release for violating the civil rights of an inmate in her custody and control.

Covington, who was working at the Federal Correctional Institution at Petersburg, Virginia, on January 9, 2021, showed deliberate indifference to the inmate’s, W.W., serious medical needs, resulting in the inmate suffering bodily injury and eventually dying on January 10, 2021.

According to court documents, Covington was aware of W.W.’s serious medical needs but failed to ensure that he received necessary medical care during her shift. This negligence led to W.W. falling into walls and other objects numerous times, causing significant bruising and bleeding to his head and body.

Covington was also found guilty of making false statements to federal agents about the incident. Another BOP official, former Lieutenant Michael Anderson, previously pleaded guilty for his role in the inmate’s death and was sentenced to three years in prison.

The case is a powerful reminder that corrections staff must uphold their responsibility for the safety and wellbeing of inmates in their care. ‘Federal correctional officials who fail to do their jobs at the cost of inmate safety should be held accountable,’ said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Civil Rights Division.

Covington was not the only BOP official to be held accountable for W.W.’s death. Former BOP nurse Tonya Farley, 54, was also sentenced to six months in prison, six months of home confinement, and three years of supervised release for lying to federal investigators about the circumstances of the death.

Farley was the last medical provider to see W.W. before his death and failed to take necessary steps to ensure his care, despite BOP policies requiring her to confer with a physician and send W.W. to the hospital. The inmate’s death was ruled a result of blunt force trauma to his head and the lack of medical assistance he received during his series of falls and after his last fall.

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