In a shocking turn of events, five former correctional officers in West Virginia have been indicted by a federal grand jury in connection with the fatal beating of Quantez Burks, an incarcerated man who died in 2022. The officers are accused of beating Burks while he was handcuffed and restrained in an interview room and later in a jail cell. The U.S. Justice Department also charged all five officers, along with a former lieutenant, with attempting to cover up their actions.

These indictments come just weeks after two other West Virginia corrections officers pleaded guilty to a felony conspiracy charge related to the same incident. Burks, a pretrial detainee at the Southern Regional Jail in Beaver, passed away less than 24 hours after being booked into the facility on a wanton endangerment charge.

The case has drawn attention to the conditions and deaths at the Southern Regional Jail. Recently, West Virginia agreed to pay $4 million to settle a class-action lawsuit filed by inmates who described the conditions at the jail as inhumane. The lawsuit, filed last year on behalf of current and former inmates, highlighted issues such as lack of access to water and food, overcrowding, and fights that were allowed to escalate until someone was injured.

In response to the lawsuit, Governor Jim Justice's administration fired former Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation Executive Officer Brad Douglas and Homeland Security Chief Counsel Phil Sword. A federal magistrate judge recommended a default judgment in the lawsuit, citing the intentional destruction of records. During a hearing, former and current corrections officials admitted that no steps had been taken to preserve evidence at the jail, including emails and documents.

According to the indictment issued on Thursday, three former Southern Regional Jail correctional officers - Mark Holdren, Cory Snyder, and Johnathan Walters - conspired with other officers to unlawfully beat Burks as an act of retaliation. The court documents state that Burks attempted to push past an officer to leave his housing unit, leading to him being taken to an interview room where he was struck by correctional officers while being restrained and handcuffed. He was then forcibly moved to another housing unit, where he was assaulted again.

West Virginia Department of Homeland Security Secretary Mark Sorsaia emphasized that the state had collaborated closely with federal law enforcement to secure the indictments against the ex-corrections staffers. He stated, "It's important to note that we alerted the federal authorities to this matter and worked closely with federal authorities throughout the entirety of the investigation to assist in holding those responsible for unlawful acts accountable."

Two other former corrections officers were indicted on Thursday for failing to intervene in the unlawful assault that resulted in Burks' death. Additionally, all five indicted officers, along with the former lieutenant, face charges of covering up the use of unlawful force by omitting material information and providing false and misleading information to investigators. The indictment alleges that Walters, Holdren, and another officer submitted incident reports containing false and misleading information. Holdren, Snyder, and two other officers were also charged with making false statements to the FBI.

At the time of reporting, contact information for the indicted officers was not immediately available. However, it is worth mentioning that former officers Andrew Fleshman and Steven Wimmer had already pleaded guilty to a felony conspiracy charge related to the fatal beating. Their sentencings have been scheduled for February 22.

The state medical examiner's office initially attributed Burks' cause of death to natural causes, but his family commissioned a private autopsy, which revealed multiple areas of blunt force trauma on his body. These findings contradicted the initial assessment and raised further concerns about the circumstances surrounding Burks' death.

The Associated Press reached out to the state corrections agency for comment, but no response was received at the time of publication. These indictments serve as a stark reminder of the importance of accountability and the need to address the systemic issues within correctional facilities to ensure the safety and well-being of inmates.