Former prison sergeant convicted of beating inmate

WVAS | By Melanie Hogan

Published August 22, 2023 at 6:13 PM EDT

A jury on Thursday convicted a former Alabama prison sergeant of federal charges in connection with the 2018 beating of an inmate.

37-year-old Devlon Williams, a former sergeant with the Alabama Department of Corrections, was convicted of deprivation of rights under color of law, falsification of records and obstruction of justice.

Prosecutors say Williams repeatedly punched and kicked an inmate at Staton Correctional Facility who was on the ground and not resisting or posing a threat. The Department of Justice has an ongoing civil lawsuit against Alabama, contending state inmates face unconstitutional levels of violence from inmate-on-inmate attacks and a pattern of excessive force by officers.

The state has disputed the allegations.

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Melanie Hogan

Melanie began her career as a work study student, working in the areas of news reporting, anchoring and news-gathering. After graduating from Alabama State University, she worked as a production assistant at the local NBC affiliate, WSFA-TV. As a News Director at WVAS-FM, Melanie leads her team to produce award- winning newscasts and talk shows. Her professional achievements includes News Reporter of the Year for a number of years and awards for talk show producer, by the Alabama Broadcasters Association and the Associated Press. She is an active member of the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce. Her goals are to expand the reach of WVAS FM into more homes locally, regionally and nationally.

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