Inmate's story key in guards' trial

A jury is expected to begin today deciding the fate of 3 ex-guards accused of murdering an inmate.

By THOMAS C. TOBIN
© St. Petersburg Times
published February 15, 2002

STARKE -- The fate of three former prison guards on trial for second-degree murder could come down to whether six Bradford County jurors believe Castro Flores, an illegal Mexican immigrant serving a life sentence for attempted murder and armed robbery.

Flores heard somebody "getting whupped" in a neighboring cell at Florida State Prison, he told the jury earlier this month. He wrote down the time in his Bible: 12:20 p.m. on July 17, 1999. He also said he saw several guards, including the three on trial, pass in front of his cell.

Though Flores was an inmate, his jottings and other bits of his testimony had the ring of truth, a prosecutor told the jury Thursday as the monthlong trial ground toward a climax. After closing arguments are completed today, the jury will decide whether former guards Timothy A. Thornton, Charles A. Brown and Jason P. Griffis are guilty of second-degree murder, felony battery on an inmate, official misconduct and other charges in the stomping death of inmate Frank Valdes.

In a courtroom crowded with more than 100 spectators, most of them state corrections officers and relatives of the guards, Flores emerged as a cornerstone of the state's case.

Faced with a case based largely on circumstantial evidence, prosecutors used documents and the testimony of 51 witnesses to stitch together their version of how Valdes, 36, died.

With Flores as the foundation of the second-degree murder charge, they fashioned a tale that had Valdes dying in his cell shortly after the 12:20 p.m. beating, ignored by guards who realized they had gone too far and tried to cover it up in reports. Using the fact that Valdes was found soaking wet, cold and without a pulse, prosecutor Mark Moseley concluded that the coverup included a cleaning of the body.

Twice Thursday, prosecutors jumped up with both feet and came down, causing the courtroom floor to shake. With that they sought to demonstrate the violence of the beating and the injuries that doctors said are usually seen in plane crashes and auto wrecks.

Moseley showed pictures of Valdes' battered body on an overhead projector. His injuries included 24 broken ribs, a broken collar bone and shoulder, a broken jaw and nose, four broken vertebrae and boot marks on his abdomen and neck.

Another prosecutor, Marc Peterson, said it was likely one of the guards could have stopped it. "This kind of beating takes time," he said. "Common sense tells you this went on for minutes."

Defense attorneys countered, describing the inmate testimony as "bought" by investigators and prosecutors who gave them special treatment, including getting moved from Florida's most unpleasant prison.

The inmates knew that telling investigators what they wanted to hear would earn them "a get out of Florida State Prison free card," said defense attorney Ted C. Curtis, who represents Brown. "We're talking about inmates at Florida State Prison -- the end of the line. These are the guys who make crime their careers. . . . They're con artists and they know how to get exactly what they want."

He said Flores' testimony was contradicted by prison logs indicating the guards he saw bringing Valdes to the neighboring cell were there at 11 a.m., not 12:20 p.m.

He also criticized inmate testimony about an alleged conspiracy by guards to beat Valdes, who was on death row. If such a conspiracy existed, Curtis said, the guards likely would have discussed it the morning of July 17 while preparing to "extract" Valdes from his cell. But even the state's star witness, former prison guard Raymon Hanson, said no such conversations occurred.

Tensions arise from trying three ex-guards in a town dominated by the prison industry. Within 25 miles of Starke are six major prisons.

Circuit Judge Larry G. Turner acknowledged that factor Thursday, ordering courtroom spectators not to give so much as a nod that would show their feelings about the case. If they did, he said, "I will take action. Make no mistake about it."

The same dynamic was apparent when prosecutors told jurors that even violent inmates like Valdes deserve protection under the law. And guards, he said, "are not like the people that are behind bars. That's the reason why they go home at the end of the shift."

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