A judge sentenced a former Georgia sheriff to 18 months in federal prison Tuesday following a conviction for allegedly violating the constitutional rights of detainees at the county jail.
In addition to the year and half behind bars, U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross sentenced former Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill to six years of supervised release and 100 hours of community service.
“This is a case of first impression in the United States of America. The purchase of a completely legal restraint chair, which is used throughout the United States both in federal, state and municipalities for the first time a sheriff, without any notice that you can be prosecuted, was in fact prosecuted,” Hill’s attorney said at a press conference outside the courthouse after the sentencing.
Hill was federally indicted in April 2021 for violating the civil rights of detainees at the Clayton County Jail by strapping them into restraint chairs as punishment. The use of restrain devices are only permitted if it is believed a detainee may cause personal harm to themselves or others.
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FOX 5 Atlanta reported that prosecutors showed cell phone video recorded by a former Clayton County Sheriff’s Office employee showing Hill’s conversation with a man named Joseph Arnold on Feb. 25, 2020. Arnold was accused of assaulting two women inside a grocery store and was being booked into jail.
“What was you doing in Clayton County that day?” Hill asked Arnold.
“It’s a democracy, sir. It’s the United States,” Arnold responded.
“No, it’s not. Not in my county,” Hill said, rejecting Arnold assertions of his right “to a fair and speedy trial.” “Roll that chair ’round here,” Hill ordered deputies. “Roll that chair ’round here.”
Prosecutions also showed surveillance video of Hill’s interactions with Glenn Howell on April 27, 2020. Howell, a landscaper, had a dispute with a deputy after…
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