Former ADOC officer sentenced to federal prison

A former Alabama Department of Corrections officer will serve 63 months in prison for using excessive force and then lying about it.

Devlon Williams was a sergeant at ADOC’s Staton Correctional Facility in Elmore County. He was transporting an inmate who was suicidal from Staton’s chapel to receive healthcare. Williams stopped short of the infirmary and out of sight of other inmates and assaulted the prisoner by striking him with a baton. 

Witnesses said the prisoner was not resisting and that Williams punched and kicked the inmate.

Another corrections officer was there. Larry Managan Jr. also participated in the beating.

According to court records Williams and Managan then tried to cover up the beating. Williams falsified the report and coerced others to lie about the incident as well.

Managan pleaded guilty to obstructing justice and testified against Williams.

Williams was found guilty by a federal jury of deprivation of rights under color of law, falsification of records and obstruction of justice and was sentenced.

The U.S. Justice Department Civil Rights Division helped prosecute the case against Williams. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clark said Williams was supposed to be the one other officers looked up to.

“Instead he callously abused his authority and brutalized a vulnerable inmate during a time of need,” Clarke said. “The Justice Department will not tolerate this type of violent conduct inside our jails and prisons, and we will continue to prosecute corrections officials who violate the constitutional and civil rights of people in their custody.”