U.S. v. Daniels, 00-30624.
| Decision Date | 23 January 2002 |
| Docket Number | No. 00-30624.,00-30624. |
| Citation | 281 F.3d 168 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Harrison DANIELS, Patrick Sayes, John Swan, Sergeant, Defendants-Appellants. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit |
Gregory Bryan Friel (argued), Jessica Dunsay Silver, U.S. Dept. of Justice, Civil Rights Div., Washington, DC, Frederick Angelo Menner, Asst. U.S. Atty., Baton Rouge, LA, for Plaintiff-Appellee.
John S. McLindon (argued), Rainer, Anding & McLindon, Baton Rouge, LA, for Daniels.
Rebecca L. Hudsmith (argued), Joseph R. Streva, Jr., Lafayette, LA, for Sayes.
Christopher Albert Aberle (argued), Mandeville, LA, for Swan.
Appeals from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana.
Before GARWOOD and WIENER, Circuit Judges, and FALLON,1 District Judge.
Defendants-appellants Harrison Daniels (Daniels), Patrick Sayes (Sayes), and John Swan (Swan) appeal their respective convictions under 18 U.S.C. § 242. We affirm.
Daniels, Sayes, and Swan were corrections officers at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola (Angola or the prison). They were indicted and convicted in connection with a beating inflicted on Rayfield Jackson (Jackson), a prisoner at Angola, that occurred on or about December 22, 1997. At the time of the incident, Daniels and Swan held the rank of sergeant and Sayes was a lieutenant.2 In essence, the charges against the defendants were as follows: Daniels and Swan committed a brutal battery of Jackson that left Jackson severely injured. Sayes, the supervising officer, witnessed the attack, and willfully permitted and made no attempt to stop it. Following the attack, the three defendants allegedly deprived Jackson of access to medical care. The charges were brought pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 242.3
An indictment was returned on May 25, 19994 charging the three defendants as follows:
"Count 1: On or about December 22, 1997, in the Middle District of Louisiana, defendants, HARRISON DANIELS and JOHN SWAN, while acting as Corrections Sergeants with the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, Louisiana, under color of the laws of the State of Louisiana, aiding and abetting each other, did willfully assault and beat Rayfield Jackson, resulting in bodily injury to Rayfield Jackson, and did thereby willfully deprive Rayfield Jackson of the right secured and protected by the Constitution and laws of the United States not to have cruel and unusual punishment inflicted upon him.
All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 242 and 2.
Count 2: On or about December 22, 1997, in the Middle District of Louisiana, defendant, PATRICK SAYES, while acting as a Corrections Lieutenant with the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, Louisiana, under color of the laws of the State of Louisiana, did willfully permit other officers with the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, Louisiana in his presence and under his supervision, namely Corrections Sergeants Harrison Daniels and John Swan, unlawfully to assault and beat Rayfield Jackson, while Rayfield Jackson was in the custody of those officers, and did willfully fail to prevent these unlawful assaults; resulting in bodily injury to Rayfield Jackson, and did thereby willfully deprive Rayfield Jackson of the right preserved and protected by the Constitution and laws of the United States not to be deprived of liberty without due process of law, which includes the right to be kept free from harm while in official custody.
All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections [sic] 242.
Count 3: On or about December 22, 1997, in the Middle District of Louisiana, defendants, PATRICK SAYES, HARRISON DANIELS, and JOHN SWAN, while acting as Corrections Officers with the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, Louisiana, under color of the laws of the State of Louisiana, aiding and abetting one another, did willfully prevent Rayfield Jackson from receiving medical care and treatment, resulting in bodily injury to Rayfield Jackson, and did thereby willfully deprive Rayfield Jackson of the right secured and protected by the Constitution and laws of the United States not to have cruel and unusual punishment inflicted upon him.
All in violation of Title 18 United States Code, Sections 242 and 2." Indictment, Record Excerpts for Daniels at Tab 5.
The three defendants were tried together in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana. On January 21, 2000, the jury returned a verdict finding Daniels guilty as to Counts 1 and 3, Swan guilty as to Count 1 and not guilty as to Count 3, and Sayes guilty as to Count 2 and not guilty as to Count 3. On May 5, 2000, following a sentencing hearing, the district court sentenced Daniels to ninety-six months in prison, Swan to eighty-seven months in prison, and Sayes to eighty-seven months in prison.
According to the trial testimony, the beating took place sometime on the morning of December 22, 1997.5 On that date, the defendants were assigned to work in the prison's Cuda 1 unit (Cuda). Cuda is a unit or tier within Camp J, the prison's maximum security disciplinary facility. During a given shift, two sergeants are assigned to each unit. The sergeants are under the supervision of a lieutenant who has charge over several units at a given time. A tier consists of a row of fourteen cells separated by concrete walls. A unit has showers and a lobby at one end, followed by cells numbered one through fourteen, with cell 1 being closest to the lobby and cell 14 at the far end. Jackson was housed in Cuda's cell 8.
At trial, defendant Sayes, Jackson, and six other prisoners incarcerated in the Cuda unit testified regarding the events of the morning of December 22, 1997. Each witness had a different vantage point and their testimony diverged with regard to some particulars. But the testimony was generally consistent with regard to several relevant facts, which we now describe. On that morning, defendant Daniels went to Jackson's cell to escort Jackson to the medical clinic to receive an injection.6 Angola policy requires that prisoners in the Camp J facility wear restraints when they are transported and Daniels was carrying a set of metal handcuffs when he approached Jackson's cell. Jackson informed Daniels that, because of a skin condition, he was required to wear plastic "flex cuffs" instead of metal handcuffs. Daniels insisted on using the metal cuffs and the two began to argue through the bars of Jackson's cell. As the argument escalated, Daniels spat a mouthful of sunflower seeds into Jackson's face. Jackson allegedly spat back at Daniels. Daniels then procured a bucket of water and doused Jackson with it.7
Daniels then telephoned Sayes and explained that he needed a set of flex cuffs to restrain Jackson. Sayes arrived at the Cuda tier and brought the flex cuffs to Daniels. Although he now had flex cuffs available, Daniels restrained Jackson with the metal handcuffs.8 Jackson's legs were also shackled and he was restrained with a waist chain around his waist. Jackson was removed from his cell and Daniels began violently kicking and punching Jackson. Sayes witnessed the beating and neither did nor said anything to attempt to stop it. Daniels moved Jackson down the tier, to the lobby, where Swan joined Daniels in attacking Jackson. At one point, Swan apparently struck Jackson forcefully on the side of the head with a shoe. Although Sayes was not indicted for actively participating in the attack, there was testimony that Sayes encouraged the attackers verbally and even struck a few blows himself.
After the beating, Jackson was made to crawl back to his cell on his knees while Daniels continued to taunt and kick him. For several hours, Jackson lay in his cell in severe pain. Daniels apparently prevented a medic from checking on Jackson and did not apprise the officers coming on to the next shift that Jackson had been injured. Jackson finally got medical attention after midnight, nearly fourteen hours after the assault.
Dr. James Hand examined and treated Jackson. Dr. Hand testified that Jackson was brought in shortly after one o'clock on the morning of December 23, 1997. Jackson had severe external and internal injuries, including a collapsed lung, a ruptured kidney, broken ribs, several broken vertebrae, a ruptured eardrum, internal bleeding, and multiple contusions. Dr. Hand testified that, in his opinion, Jackson's injuries were at least ten to twelve hours old and were consistent with a beating occurring thirteen hours before Dr. Hand saw him.
When the extent of Jackson's injuries became known, Angola officials began an internal investigation into the incident. The prison warden offered Sayes immunity for Sayes's statement to the prison investigator. Under the cloak of this immunity promise, Sayes made two statements, one on December 24, 1997, and one on January 13, 1998, to Major Sivula, the official in charge of the prison's investigation. In his statements, Sayes admitted witnessing the attack, identified Daniels and Swan as Jackson's assailants, and described some details of the incident.
After its initial investigation, the prison referred the matter to the FBI. On January 14, 1998, Sivula contacted agent Rondalyn Craft, the FBI agent in charge of the federal investigation. During a telephone conversation, Sivula gave agent Craft some general information about the incident and mentioned Sayes's involvement in it. Sivula and agent Craft testified at a pretrial motions hearing that they did not discuss Sayes's specific statements or the existence of those statements. Agent Craft and another agent, Thomas McNulty, arrived at Angola on January 21, 1998 and began their investigation by reviewing prison log books and other records. They interviewed Jackson and two other prisoners, who corroborated Jackson's account of...
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