Fulton county sheriff markett guilty, prisoner dead, deputy skates

Why not murder for Fulton County deputy?

Mitnee Markett Jones guilty of lying

Deputy Sheriff Mitnee Markett Jones ducks felony murder charges for the death of inmate Richard Glasco. She and Officer Curtis Jerome Brown Jr, Officer Chantae Taylor and Officer Derontay Aanton Langford went into Glasco’s cell and confronted him. A few minutes after the deputies left Glasco’s cell he was dead.

Instead of first degree murder, Jones and fellow deputy sheriff Curtis Jerone Brown were indicted on charges relating to lying and obstruction of justice.

Markett was convicted today of filing a false incident report with the intent to hinder the federal investigation, making a false material statement about the incident to a Special Agent of the FBI, and obstruction of justice by making false statements to a federal grand jury investigating Glasco’s death. While the charges are serious, they fall far short of first degree murder and felony murder these deputies should be facing under the felony murder rule, which I will explain in a second.

Mr. Glasco, an unstable inmate, was banging on his jail door for hours. The jailers responded. Victor Hutchins, an inmate who was in his cell across the hall, heard the confrontation between the officers and Glasco.

About an hour later, Deputies Taylor and Lanfrod found Glasco in his cell ‘unresponsive and not breathing’

There was a wild scream, and silence. About an hour later, Deputies Taylor and Lanfrod found Glasco in his cell ‘unresponsive and not breathing’. According to the prosecution, when the deputies left the cell, the window on Glasco's door was shattered and blood and remnants of his skin were found on the glass. The helpless inmate was rushed to Grady Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead. That is a lot of evidence for first degree murder.

This is a cover up from the ground up beginning with the deputies and ending with the county medical examiner. The deputies lied through their teeth and the medical examiner reported Glasco’s death was ‘sudden and unexpected’ but “undetermined” The entire affair is a disgrace to law enforcement officers throughout the nation who work so hard to get it right.

"if she participated in the assault in any way, she is guilty of felony murder"

In this case, even if Jones did not hit inmate Glasco, if she participated in the assault in any way, she is guilty of felony murder in many states.

Why was no one charged? Is it because the man who was murdered was a prisoner instead of a free man? Is it because the person murdered was black? We put bad people in prisons to keep them away from the rest of society. Does that mean they should not be receive the same protection under the law as you and I do?

Jerone Brown who is also on trial for obstruction of justice has had a few problems in his past. He is accused of beating an inmate named Maurice Aikens while Aiken’s hands were cuffed behind his back.

On August 11th, 2007, inmate Aikens was being transferred to disciplinary lockdown for being disruptive. Brown offered to help another deputy, Tiece Thomas-West, move Aikens. Really, Brown wanted to get Aikens to a place where there were no witnesses.

Brown and Deputy Thomas-West took Aikens for an elevator ride. When the elevator door opened the deputies found an inmate mopping the floor. The inmate was ordered to leave the area.

"He then went at Aikens, beating the hell out of him"

Brown put on leather gloves. He had been well trained in the military. He then went at Aikens, beating the hell out of him, until blood spattered on the wall and floor. Thomas-West watched in horror.

"I was terrified," she testified. She said she tried to get Deputy Jerone Brown to stop the beating, but was not able to pull him off the helpless inmate.

Why didn’t the FBI charge anyone with Glasco’s death?

Under the felony murder rule, anyone who participates in the commission of a felony is guilty of first degree murder if a person is murdered by another crook during the commission of the felony. That applies even if the first person had nothing to do with the murder. In this case, the felony is assault upon the inmate. Jones did not have to throw a punch if she participated in the felony that resulted in the mentally unstable man’s death.

That is probably why Jones isn’t cooperating.

Gregory Jones, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta, said, “For a sworn law enforcement officer to deliberately mislead a federal investigation is unconscionable, and the jury, with a returned verdict of guilty, agreed that it should not be tolerated.”

Jones faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years for filing the false incident report; five years for making a false material statement to the FBI; and 10 years for obstruction of justice. Jones also faces a maximum fine of $250,000 on each count. If the court does not give Ms. Jones the maximum then we will know the problem in Fulton County does not stop with the Sheriff.

"When the FBI investigated they ‘hit a brick wall’"

The Fulton County Jail has been under watch for some time. The jail is over crowded and reports of jailer abuse are rampant. When the FBI investigated they ‘hit a brick wall’. The thin blue line was working hard in Fulton County as one disgrace to law enforcement protected another.

Fulton County Sheriff Ted Jackson said, “Sworn officers are expected to be honest and anything less will not be tolerated within the Fulton County Sheriff's Office. No one should turn a blind eye to the mistreatment of persons in custody. This conviction is further proof that we will hold staff members accountable for their actions while expecting all employees to promote high standards of professionalism for next generation of detention officers.”

"Prisoner abuse comes from the top down"

Let me give you a little news, Ted. These kinds of things don’t usually come from the bottom up. Prisoner abuse comes from the top down.  These deputies thought they could get away with kicking the ass of a black man in jail or they would not have done it. If there are problems in the Fulton County Jail then the responsibility comes from the top down, not the bottom up. The next generation of detention officers is getting a good lesson by management.

Every person has the right of the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. None of the Fulton county deputies, Mitnee Markett Jones, Curtis Jerome Brown Jr, Chantae Taylor and officer Derontay Aanton Langford have been charged with the murder of Richard Glasco and I do not allege they have committed murder. That is for the FBI to figure out. At least Jones was found guilty to obstruction.  We can only hope the Federal Bureau of Investigation will not let this disgrace in the history of law enforcement escape the justice of the noose simply because they are members of law enforcement.