Sun-Sentinel

FLORIDA: Inmate beaten to death, medical examiner says

Using gruesome autopsy photographs, a medical examiner described the injuries to death row inmate Frank Valdes on the witness stand on Friday and concluded the prisoner was beaten to death.

 William Hamilton, the district medical examiner, testified he thought Valdes' injuries, including 30 rib fractures, caused the inmate to lapse into unconsciousness and die within minutes. "There was a total collapse of the chest cage," Hamilton said.

 Hamilton, who performed 1 of the 2 autopsies on Valdes, testified Friday in the 2nd-degree murder trial of 4 former prison guards. They stand accused of the July 17, 1999, fatal beating of Valdes, a death row inmate housed on X-wing at Florida State Prison.

 Capt. Timothy Thornton, 36, Sgt. Jason Griffis, 28, Sgt. Charles Brown, 28, and Sgt. Andrew Lewis, 31, are charged with 2nd-degree murder, aggravated battery and conspiracy to commit aggravated battery on an inmate.

 "In my opinion, the cause of Frank Valdes' death was multiple traumatic injuries due to a beating," Hamilton said.

 Under cross-examination by defense attorneys, Hamilton conceded that some of the injuries could have been caused by Valdes flinging himself off the bars of his cell onto the concrete floor of his cell.

 "I don't believe you can go in a self-destructive manner long enough to inflict that many injuries," Hamilton said.

 Boot prints were found on Valdes' neck, chest, abdomen and back.

 "You don't get boot prints when you fall against a stationary object or structure," Hamilton said.

 The medical examiner also conceded that guards could have broken some of Valdes' ribs when they performed CPR, but added he did not think all the ribs were broken by resuscitation efforts.