North Carolina federal prison supervisor convicted after instructing physical punishment
BUTTER, NC — A North Carolina federal prison supervisor has been convicted after investigators say he ordered a correctional officer to physically punish a man incarcerated at the facility by beating him.
Daniel Mitchell, former Federal Bureau of Prisons lieutenant, pleaded guilty earlier this week on a felony charge of conspiracy to violate civil rights, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice.
“Corrections officers work in dangerous environments with limited resources and deserve our respect and gratitude,” said U.S. Attorney Michael F. Easley Jr. in a statement. “But officers who act outside the law to injure a prisoner undermine the rule of law, violate civil rights and endanger the lives of other officers.”
An attorney representing Mitchell declined to comment Saturday.
The assault occurred at the Federal Correctional Institute Butner Medium II in the Granville County Special Housing Unit, which Mitchell supervised, authorities said. The prison houses more than 1,600 peopleaccording to his website.
A correctional officer reported to Mitchell on Dec. 8, 2021, that the incarcerated man exposed himself and “performed a sexual act” in front of her while she was making rounds in the unit, investigators said. Mitchell then began discussing with another correctional officer how to punish the man.
Neither the man nor the two correctional officers were named by the U.S. Department of Justice or court documents from the case. The department did not indicate whether the conspiring officer was also charged.
Normally, the jail’s disciplinary process for misconduct includes reporting violations. The report is then given to the person, which is called “counseling,” according to court records.
Mitchell and the conspiring officer agreed that traditional punishment methods would not work for the man, investigators said. While giving instructions, Mitchell allegedly told the officer to “teach (the man) a lesson” and “tune him out” — a formulation they both interpreted as physical punishment, according to court documents. He also ordered the officer to “stay away from the man’s face” while punishing him, authorities said.
The man was taken to another cell where the officer punched and kicked him until other correctional officers intervened, the department said. The man later suffered a medical emergency with spasms after the beating aggravated his pre-existing back condition, investigators said.
An eyewitness reported the assault, prompting an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Inspector General. Mitchell and the conspiring officer both admitted to investigators that they intended to physically punish the inmate as a disciplinary measure, authorities said.
Mitchell’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for the end of March, at which he could face a prison sentence of up to 10 years.