South Carolina prison guard stabs inmate with his shank after he damages cell light fixture, gets 7 years jail
COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA: A prison guard, who pleaded guilty to repeatedly stabbing an inmate who damaged a light fixture in his cell with a shank, has been sentenced to seven years behind bars.
According to a Wednesday press release from the US Attorney’s Office in South Carolina, Jarrell Boyan, 29, was working as a lieutenant at the Kirkland Correction Institute in Columbia in 2016 when the inmate in question broke the light fixture in his jail cell.
Being the ranking officer at the scene, Boyan directed other corrections officers to inspect the cell and restrain inmate Kenya Spry, 33, The State reported. Boyan and two other guards are seen in surveillance video from the prison's hallway storming the cell while Spry resisted, per the press release.
Spry was eventually removed from his cell and restrained with handcuffs in the hallway. The guards proceeded to search the inmate and found a shank on his person before taking it away from him.
Officials noted how the guards forced Spry back into his cell and were just about to leave when Boyan — who had pocketed the makeshift knife — returned to the cell and stabbed the prisoner four times in full view of the two other officers at the scene. However, the incident took place out of view of the surveillance camera.
Officials later revealed the victim had sustained puncture wounds to his kidney and liver.
Following the incident, Boyan wrote a false report of the incident and even ordered his subordinates to file the same story.
According to The State, Spry has a history of violence and threats towards law enforcement.
Police records show he has faced disciplinary action for assaults on law enforcement multiple times, including throwing bodily fluids at officers and twice attempting to escape the prison.
Bryan Stirling, Director of the South Carolina Department of Corrections, applauded the FBI as well as US Attorney's office for bringing the officer to justice. “When a corrections officer breaks the public trust, they must be held accountable for their actions,” he said in the release.