Prison guards to pay for beating and lying

Three Georgia prison guards have been convicted of charges related to the beating of an inmate.

A federal jury convicted Christopher Hall, a former sergeant for the Correctional Emergency Response Team (CERT) at Macon State Prison (MSP) in Oglethorpe, Georgia, and two former CERT officers, Ronald Lach and Delton Rushin on Friday for offenses related to the 2010 beating, the Justice Department said Monday.

Three other defendants, James Hinton, Derrick Wimbush and Tyler Griffin, were acquitted of related charges.

Prosecutors contended Lach was one of several guards who beat an inmate as punishment for misconduct. Lach was convicted of violating the inmate’s rights, conspiring to obstruct justice after the assault and obstruction of justice. Hall and Rushin were convicted of conspiring to obstruct justice and obstruction of justice.

Five other former guards have pleaded guilty to various charges in connection with a series of beatings in 2010 at Macon State Prison.