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Three Parchman Correctional Officers Indicted For Inmate Assault And Cover-Up
WASHINGTON – In a nine-count indictment unsealed today, two Mississippi correctional officers were charged with beating an inmate and a third was charged with helping to cover it up.
The indictment charged Lawardrick Marsher, 28, and Robert Sturdivant, 47, officers at Mississippi State Penitentiary, in Parchman, Mississippi, with a beating that included kicking, punching and throwing the victim to the ground. Marsher and Sturdivant were charged with violating the right of K.H., a convicted prisoner, to be free from cruel and unusual punishment. Sturdivant was also charged with failing to intervene while Marsher was punching and beating K.H. The indictment alleges that their actions involved the use of a dangerous weapon and resulted in bodily injury to the victim.
A third officer, Deonte Pate, 23, was charged along with Marsher and Sturdivant for conspiring to cover up the beating. The indictment alleges that all three officers submitted false reports and that all three lied to the FBI.
If convicted, Marsher and Sturdivant face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison on the excessive force charges. Each of the three officers faces up to five years in prison on the conspiracy and false statement charges, and up to 20 years in prison on the false report charges.
An indictment is merely an accusation, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Jackson Division, with the cooperation of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Coleman of the Northern District of Mississippi and Trial Attorney Dana Mulhauser of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section.
Click below for Marsher Indictment:
Courtesy of The United States Department of Justice.
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Sheila coleman
July 3, 2016 at 5:21 pm
My son was also beaten at parchman while in protective custody in a medical cell on December 21,2015. He was beaten by officer undergoing anger management who was not even supposed to be working until completed. The incident involved my son being beaten with a radio. Serious injuries includes cracked jaw, back injury, servers bruising to the face and body. At this point nothing has been done and no charges have been filed. My son is Joshua Buckner 131293. It was invested by CID offers at watchman. Pictures and reports are on file. Joshua was in protected at the order of the commissioner
Marquita
November 5, 2017 at 5:53 pm
Hello Sheila,
I know your son and I don’t know why but today he was really on my mind, so I decided to look him up to see if I could find any information on him. We haven’t talked in a few years now so i’m not even sure if he remembers me, but if you talk to him, could you tell him that Marquita thought about him and my information is the same if he still has it. And I hope all is well with him,sorry that this happened to him.