FLORIDA: Amnesty International wants U.S. to investigate inmate's death

Amnesty International said Tuesday that it is deeply disturbed that charges have been dropped against five corrections officers charged in the 1999 killing of Florida death row inmate Frank Valdes.

The human rights organization is calling on the Justice Department to make every effort to bring those responsible to justice.

Jen Corlew, a spokeswoman for Amnesty International in Washington, said the group is appalled that no one has been brought to justice or held accountable in the case.

 She said there was overwhelming evidence that Valdes was beaten to death in an isolation cell at Florida State Prison on July 17, 1999.

 State Attorney Bill Cervone announced Friday that he was dropping conspiracy and 1nd-degree murder charges against the 5 officers. The decision came after 2 previous trials in Bradford County involving the same case ended with acquittals.

 Cervone said he did not think a conviction was likely in Bradford County, where the state correction system is the largest employer.

 "The overwhelming evidence they (Amnesty International) describe was not enough to convince two different juries," Spencer Mann, a spokesman for Cervone's office, said Tuesday.

 Valdes, who was on death row for the slaying of a corrections officer, died from massive injuries inflicted during the alleged beating. Injuries included 22 broken ribs and a fractured sternum, nose and jaw. There were boot marks on his face, neck, abdomen and back.

 Amnesty International expressed concern that the safety of all those in state custody is in jeopardy if officers can act with impunity in the face of such compelling and horrendous evidence of abuse.

 At the trial, the prosecution contended that Valdes was beaten by guards to discourage him from going to the media with allegations of physical abuse of other inmates in X-Wing.

 When contacted at her home in Lake Worth, Valdes' former wife, Wanda, said she was happy with the Amnesty International statement. She also has been pushing for a Justice Department case alleging that Valdes' civil rights had been violated. 

"I want to see them pay for what they did," she said Tuesday. "He didn't deserve to die that way."

 She has also filed a federal civil suit against the Department of Corrections.

 Gloria Fletcher, an attorney representing the Police Benevolent Association, the union representing corrections officers, took dispute with the Amnesty International statement.

 "We may have lost sight about the kind of person Frank Valdes was and why he was in prison," she said, recalling that Valdes was on X-wing after being convicted of killing a corrections officer.

 Dan Nelson, a Justice Department spokesman in Washington, said Valdes' case is being reveiwed, but declined further comment.

 The case had been in doubt since the February acquittals of former Capt. Timothy Thornton, 36, Sgt. Charles Brown, 28, and Jason Griffis, 29.

 On Friday, Cervone announced he was dropping charges against former officers Andrew Lewis, 32, Montrez Lucas, 33, Donald Stanford, 53, and Dewey Beck, 54. Lucas was earlier acquitted of beating Valdes the day before the inmate died.

 Charges were also being dropped against former officer Robert Sauls, 39, who was accused of conspiracy, battery and official misconduct.

 Valdes, 36, had been sentenced to die for the 1987 shooting death of a Palm Beach County prison guard in an unsuccessful attempt to free another inmate from a prison van outside a doctor's office.