×
You've used up your 3 free articles for this month. Subscribe today.
Florida Guards Murder Another Prisoner, Get Another Acquittal
Loaded on Aug. 15, 2002
by David Reutter
published in Prison Legal News
August, 2002, page 12
by David M. Reutter
Filed under:
Guard Misconduct,
DOC/BOP misconduct,
Crime/Demographics,
Criminal Prosecution,
Prison/Jail Murders,
Excessive Force,
Guard Brutality/Beatings,
Stun Guns/Tasers,
Juries,
Death Row.
Location:
Florida.
A state jury has acquitted three Florida prison guards in the murder of death row inmate Frank Valdes. The guards, Captain Timothy Thornton, Sgt. Jason P. Griffis, and Sgt. Charles A. Brown, were exonerated of second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit aggravated battery on a prisoner, official …
Full article and associated cases available to subscribers.
As a digital subscriber to Prison Legal News, you can access full text and downloads for this and other premium content.
Already a subscriber? Login
More from this issue:
- News in Brief, by Roger Hummel
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Ill Treatment on Our Shores, by Anne-Marie Cusac
- New Jersey Goes Online with Sex Offender Website
- Florida Guards Murder Another Prisoner, Get Another Acquittal, by David Reutter
- No 85% on New Jersey Murder Conviction
- The Parents' Project, by Denise Johnston
- Prisoner's Guerrilla Handbook to Correspondence Programs in The United States and Canada , 2 nd Ed., by Hans Sherrer
- Officials Netted in Kansas Jail Bribery
- Courts Retain Power To Grant TROs Under PLRA
- Washington PDA May Be Used for Pre-Trial Discovery
- Kansas Sexual Predator Civil Commitment Standards Refined by U.S. Supreme Court
- Washington Prisoner Attorney Disciplined for Negligence
- USPC Reverses Stance on HIV Discrimination after Suit Filed, by Deborah M Golden
- Remand Defeats Georgia DOC's Attempted 11th Amendment Immunity Bar, by John E Dannenberg
- Texas Juvenile Jail Suicide Settles for $100,000
- BOP Policy Denying Electric Musical Instruments Upheld; Religious Exception Enjoined
- Statute of Limitation Tolled by Administrative Exhaustion
- Wisconsin DOC in Contempt for Not Collecting PLRA Fees
- Motion Accepted as Appeal Notice; Damage Award Set Off Against Costs
- New Florida Trend: Abuse in a Spray Can
- Nevada Juvenile Road Accident Kills Six, Settles for $3.5 Million
- $54,750 Damages Awarded Asthmatic Prisoner in Michigan ETS Suit, by John E Dannenberg
- Court Criticizes PLRA Attorney Fee Cap, by David Reutter
- States Capitulate on Reading Legal Mail, by John E Dannenberg
- Judge Awards $2.8 Million to Victims of CSC Texas Boot Camp Sexual Abuse
- Oklahoma Jailhouse Informants Settle Failure to Protect Suit for $80,000
- Criminal Guards in Texas
- CCA Conditions Claim Not Frivolous
- PLRA and AEDPA Have Different Effects on Prisoner Petitions
- Court Reviewability of California Parole Denials Survives; No Parole Policy Goes to State Supreme Court, by Marvin Mentor
- News in Brief
More from David Reutter:
- Sixth Circuit Announces State-Law Exceptions to Appeal Deadlines Preserve “Pending” Status Under AEDPA, Holding Belated-Appeal Procedures Toll Federal Habeas Limitations Period, April 1, 2026
- Florida Supreme Court Announces Rule 3.170(f)’s Good-Cause Plea-Withdrawal Standard Does Not Apply at Post-Appeal Resentencing, April 1, 2026
- Colorado Supreme Court Announces Defendant Must Be Competent Before Undergoing Mental-Condition Examination Under § 16-8-107(3)(b), April 1, 2026
- California Court of Appeal Announces Plea Agreements Cannot Bar § 1172.1 Resentencing, Holds Merit-Based Denial of Petition Is Appealable, April 1, 2026
- Georgia Supreme Court Clarifies That Failure to Object to Ineligible Juror Does Not Constitute Waiver Unless Party Knew or Could Have Discovered Ineligibility Through Ordinary Diligence, April 1, 2026
- Washington State Guard’s Conviction Affirmed in Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound Scheme, March 1, 2026
- Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Holds Motion Judge Abused Discretion by Denying Evidentiary Hearing on IAC Claim Where Plea Counsel’s Affidavit Was Not Inherently Inconsistent With Colloquy Statements Regarding Immigration Advice, March 1, 2026
- Washington Supreme Court Clarifies Double Jeopardy Analysis for Multiple Assault Convictions, Holding That Assaultive Acts Occurring Over Short Time Period in Same Location Without Intervening Events Constitute Single Course of Conduct, March 1, 2026
- New Jersey Supreme Court Reverses Drug Convictions Under Cumulative Error Doctrine, Holding Combined Effect of Improper References to Television Series, Gun Violence, and Search Warrants Deprived Defendant of Fair Trial, March 1, 2026
- New York Court of Appeals Announces Coercive Police Tactics Compelling Suspect to Exit Home Constitute “Constructive Entry” Violating Payton, Holds Attenuation Analysis Applies to Third-Party Consent, March 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- Washington Governor Fires Independent Prison Watchdog, May 1, 2026. DOC/BOP misconduct, Government Misconduct, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Restraints, Administrative Detention/Segregation.
- Atlanta Jail Boasts Improvements Since Consent Decree, Reports from Monitor and ACLU Are More Critical, May 1, 2026. Staffing, Sanitation, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Consent Decrees, Bail/Pretrial Release.
- Idaho DOC Director Denies Verified Report of Rampant Sexual Abuse of Women Prisoners by Staff, May 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Guard Misconduct, DOC/BOP misconduct, Retaliatory Segregation, Prison Rape Elimination Act.
- “Like the Walking Dead”: Smuggled Drugs Fuel Chaos Inside Ohio Prisons, May 1, 2026. Contractor Misconduct, Guard Misconduct, Drug Overdose, Security Systems, Drugs - Determination of.
- Taser Use Doubled After Grand Jury Report on Pennsylvania Prisoner’s Death, May 1, 2026. Failure to Treat, Stun Guns/Tasers, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Staff Training.
- Oklahoma DOC Paid Prison Guards $35.5 Million in Overtime in 2025, May 1, 2026. DOC/BOP misconduct, Cost of Prison Systems, Totality of Conditions, Staffing, Staff Training.
- Monitor Says Massachusetts Prisons Will Not Meet Settlement Deadline for Mental Health Reforms, May 1, 2026. Private Prisons, DOC/BOP misconduct, Consent Decrees, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides.
- Watchdog Finds Barely 1 in 10 Complaints Against California Prison Staff Handled Adequately, May 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, DOC/BOP misconduct, Evidence, Staff Training, Statutes of Limitation and Laches.
- Six Maryland Guards Convicted in Prisoner’s Beating, Cover-up; § 1983 Suit Filed, May 1, 2026. Guard Brutality/Beatings, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Obstruction of Justice, Wrongful Use of Force, Evidence - Destruction/Fabrication/Manipulation of.
- Connecticut Correction Ombuds Finds DOC in “Sustained Institutional Failure”, May 1, 2026. DOC/BOP misconduct, Systemic Medical Neglect, Totality of Conditions, Lockdowns, Prisoner Legal Assistance.