The Department of Justice announced that Willie M. Burks III, 41, a former lieutenant at the Alabama Department of Corrections, had been sentenced by jury to 9 years in federal prison with two years of supervised release.
Burks was found guilty on July 21, 2021 for failing to intervene when an officer under his command assaulted inmates at the Elmore Correctional Facility. Evidence showed that on February 16, 2019, Burks witnessed former correctional sergeant Ulysses Oliver Jr. retrieve two prisoners from an observation room. As punishment for smuggling contraband into the prison, Olver proceeded to assault the two inmates by striking them with his hands, feet, and baton. When witnessing the assault, Burks' only remark was "it's fair."
“Under the Constitution, correctional officers may not physically assault inmates for violations of prison rules, and any officials who see this happening must do what they can to stop it," said General Kristen Clark, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. "The Department of Justice will vigorously prosecute officers who stand by and do nothing while other officers brutalize inmates in their charge.”
Oliver, as well as two other officers, Bryanna Mosley and Leon Williams, pleaded guilty in connection to the event.
