FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   ANGELA DODGE
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 31, 2007        PUBLIC AFFAIRS SPECIALIST
WWW.USDOJ.GOV/USAO/TXS <file://WWW.USDOJ.GOV/USAO/TXS>   (713) 567-9388

FORMER TDCJ OFFICER INDICTED FOR BEATING INMATE

(HOUSTON, Texas) – Two former Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) corrections officers have been indicted for assaulting a former inmate, covering up the assault and obstruction of justice, United States Attorney Don DeGabrielle and acting Assistant Attorney General Rena J. Comisac, Civil Rights Division, Department of Justice, announced today.

Eugene Morris, 39, of Hunstville, Texas, and Tracy Jewett, 35, of Huffman, Texas, both former corrections officers with the rank of Sergeant assigned to the Ferguson Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, were indicted by a federal grand jury Monday, Oct. 29, 2007. The five-count indictment, returned under seal, was unsealed today following the arrest of Morris and Jewett by agents of the FBI.   Both men are scheduled to appear before a U. S. Magistrate Judge in Houston later today.

The indictment alleges that in November 2002, Eugene Morris, while on duty at the Ferguson Unit, deprived an inmate of his constitutional right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment by kicking the inmate and causing him bodily injury. Morris and Jewett are each charged separately with one count of knowingly falsifying and making a false entry in a TDCJ “Use of Force” report concerning the inmate with the intent to obstruct the investigation into the incident. Both Morris and Jewett are also charged separately with one count of obstruction of justice in which they are each accused of corruptly persuading other TDCJ employees to make false statements about the circumstances surrounding the use of force against the inmate with the intent to hinder, delay or prevent the communication to law enforcement of information relating to Morris’ alleged unlawful use of force.

The deprivation of civil rights and obstruction of justice charges carry a maximum punishment, upon conviction, of 10 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.

The making a false entry in a document charge carries a maximum 10-year term of imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.

The case was investigated by the FBI and will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ruben R. Perez, and Trial Attorney Edward Caspar with the Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division.

An indictment is a formal accusation not evidence of guilt. The defendant(s) are by law presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.