Two Georgia Prison Guards Resign After Photo of Beaten Inmate Leaks
Two prison guards from Al Burruss Correctional Training Center in Forsyth, Ga. resigned from their positions Monday after a photo of a beaten teenage inmate kneeling on the floor with a makeshift leash tied around his neck spread across Facebook last week.
The teen in the photo has been identified, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports, as 18-year-old Cortez Berry, who is currently serving an eight-and-a-half-year sentence for aggravated assault, robbery, and theft of a motor vehicle. He was reportedly beaten by "at least" 10 other inmates and then forced to pose for the now viral photo, apparently taken on a contraband cell phone.
Berry's family told NBC News that after seeing the photo on Facebook, they went to the prison to investigate, but "the guards were unaware that he had been beaten." The teen's attorney also said that Berry was beaten after he allegedly refused to join a prison gang called the Gangster Disciples; he has since been transferred to Macon State Prison after a brief stint in the "notoriously violent" Smith State Prison.
The two other inmates depicted in the photo have also been transferred out of Burruss, prison officials confirmed to Fox Atlanta. The names of the guards that resigned have not been released.
[Image via Fox Atlanta]
