A Bronx jury returns a guilty verdict against the prison guards accused of beating an inmate at Rikers Island. NY1's Lori Chung has the story.
"I'm just happy that justice is served at the end of the day I went through a lot," said Jahmal Lightfoot.
A Bronx jury agreed with Lightfoot Tuesday — convicting five guards accused of beating him while he was an inmate at Rikers Island jail back in 2012.
"Let the message go out to correction officers all over this country that if you brutally assault an inmate you will be held accountable criminally," said Lightfoot's lawyer Sanford Rubenstein.
Four correction officers and a former assistant chief of department were convicted on all charges including felony assault, a top count of attempted gang assault, and falsifying records for trying to cover up the beating.
According to testimony, four officers carried out the assistant chief's order to teach Lightfoot a lesson — kicking him in the face and leaving him with several broken bones including fractured eye sockets.
"I hope that nobody else ever have to go through this because I almost died that day," Lightfoot said.
The correction officers argued that they were defending themselves against Lightfoot after he attacked them with a homemade blade. Reform advocates say the case speaks to a larger issue.
"The abuse we saw from these correction officers this is not a bad apple this is a rotten orchard, essentially we need to shutter the island and move people to smaller facilities," said criminal justice reform advocate Glenn Martin.
The head of the Correction Officer's Benevolent Association calls the jury's decision a travesty saying in part:
"This is not only unfair, it is unjust for the men and their families whose lives are being upended by this verdict, said union president Norman Seabrook. "After all, this case is based on the allegations and testimony of a confirmed gang leader who has a history of misconduct and violence."
Lightfoot is pursuing a civil case against the city. Meantime, the convicted officer's face up to fifteen years in prison when they are sentenced in September.
Three other corrections officers charged in the attack have opted for a bench trial — and still await their day in court.