Two former jail guards convicted in beatings; one cleared
Patrick Marlowe, Robert Locke and Tommy Shane Conatser, were tried on federal charges of violating the civil rights of the inmates after an 18-month federal investigation. Prosecutors described Marlowe, who was the night shift supervisor, as a leader in the attacks.
The jury deliberated for two days before convicting Marlowe of seven counts and Conatser of one count of conspiracy. Locke was acquitted.
Sentencing was set for May 12, when Marlowe could face up to life in prison and Conatser up to 10 years.
The inmate who died, Walter S. Kuntz, 43, spent eight hours in the jail in January 2003 on drunken driving charges before he was taken to the hospital with three broken ribs and head injuries that left him brain dead.
Former guard William Westmoreland, who has pleaded guilty to assault in the jail beatings, testified last week that the defendants were part of a group of jailers who gathered after their shift ended to talk brag about their violence, including counting up those left unconscious by their beatings
“It sounded like a .22-rifle went off. It was pretty loud,” Westmoreland testified about a beating he said he helped Marlowe give to a DUI suspect.
He said he saw Marlowe beat prisoners 20 or 25 times and gave details about five prisoner assaults.
Marlowe’s defense attorney Bo Taylor said the guards were victims of conditions at the cramped jail similar to combat, in which they were forced to defend themselves from unruly inmates.
A former jailer who pleaded guilty earlier testified for the prosecution that he and Marlowe beat Kuntz, with Marlowe leading the attack. Marlowe’s lawyer had argued that the jailer was defending himself from an attack by Kuntz.