Florida Department of Corrections
A prison inmate in Central Florida was allegedly beaten to death by a corrections officer as other guards watched.
51-year-old Christopher Howell died last week while serving a 4-year sentence at the Lake Correctional Institution near Orlando after a 2018 conviction for stealing some phone chargers and threatening people with a knife.
According to reports citing inside prison sources, Howell was allegedly beaten Thursday by a guard after he refused an order from within his cell. He was reportedly handcuffed and defenseless while at least 2 other officers stood by and did nothing.
Howell was later pronounced dead, but insiders think he died during the beating. The Florida Department of Corrections says it can't release the names of the officers involved due to an investigation, but does say all the guards were put on administrative leave.
This latest incident of alleged brutality is causing an uproar -- protests are scheduled for Tuesday to decry Howell's death, with some advocates calling for charges to be filed against the guards who were involved.
The FDC's Office of the Inspector General and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement are reportedly investigating.