STARLE, Fla., Feb. 14 (UPI) -- Defense attorneys in the trial of three former prison guards charged with the beating death of a Death Row inmate conceded in closing arguments Thursday the victim was beaten to death, but by someone else -- not their clients.
The defense said in opening arguments that that Frank Valdes died of self-inflicted wounds, but have abandoned that defense. The jury was expected to begin deliberations Friday.
Timothy Thornton, 36, Charles Brown, 28, and Jason Griffis, 28, were working as corrections officers at Florida State Prison in July 1999 when Valdes, 36, died. They are charged with second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit aggravated assault and battery on an inmate. If convicted on the murder charge, they face a maximum penalty of life in prison.
During the four-week trial, prosecution witnesses, many of them prison inmates, told of hearing Valdes being beaten on two occasions in July after seeing the defendants go to his cell.
Medical examiner William Hamilton testified that Valdes died of multiple blunt force trauma, including many wounds made by feet. The victim's chest was completely collapsed. Hamilton said there was no way the the fatal injuries were self-inflicted.
Only one defense attorney, Gloria Fletcher who represents Thornton, presented any defense witnesses. They included a stun gun manufacturer, who said there was no sign such a deterrent had been used on Valdes, and two corrections officers who talked about a gas grenade that might have been thrown into Valdes' cell by her client.
Defense attorneys questioned the credibility of inmate witnesses in their closing arguments, saying they had no reason to tell the truth. The defense claimed there was no way to tell who had administered the fatal blows and suggested it might have been three other former corrections officers scheduled to be tried later. All of the accused officers were fired after their arrests.
Valdes was sentenced to death for the 1987 murder of corrections officer Fred Griffis during an attempted escape from a South Florida prison. He had a long criminal record and was in a special disciplinary wing of the prison at the time of his death.
Circuit Judge Larry Turner ordered the jury sequestered during deliberations.
