FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CRT

TUESDAY, JULY 25, 2006 (202) 514-2007

WWW.USDOJ.GOV TDD (202) 514-1888

Former White County Tennessee

Corrections Officers
Indicted and Arrested on Civil Rights
Charges
WASHINGTON – A two-count indictment by a federal grand jury in Nashville,
Tenn. was unsealed today, charging two former White County corrections officers
of violating the civil rights of an inmate at the White County Jail. The
announcement was made by Wan J. Kim, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice
Department’s Civil Rights Division, Jim Vines, U.S. Attorney for the Middle
District of Tennessee, and My Harrison, Special Agent in Charge of the Memphis
Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

The jury returned the sealed indictment on June 5, 2006, against the Jail’s former
Chief of Corrections, Donald R. Wilson, and former supervisory corrections officer,
Stan Hawkins. Following the unsealing of the indictments, Hawkins was taken into
federal custody immediately and Wilson will surrender himself within the next few
days.

The first count of the indictment alleges that in May 2004, defendant Wilson
confined a jail inmate in a straightjacket for several days violating the constitutional
prohibition against subjecting inmates to cruel and unusual punishment. The second
count of the indictment alleges that, on May 6, 2004, defendant Hawkins violated
this constitutional prohibition by using a chemical agent against and beating the
same inmate.

An indictment is merely an accusation, and defendants are presumed innocent

unless proven guilty. Each count of the indictment carries a maximum potential
penalty of ten years in prison.

In announcing the indictment, Assistant Attorney General Kim commended the U.S.
Attorney’s Office, the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division, the FBI, and
the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation for their collective efforts in this
investigation.
The Civil Rights Division is committed to the vigorous enforcement of every federal
criminal civil rights statute, such as those laws that prohibit the willful use of
excessive force or other acts of misconduct by law enforcement officials. The
Division has compiled a significant record on criminal civil rights prosecutions in
the last five years. Since FY 2001, the Division has convicted 30 percent more
defendants of official misconduct crimes.

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