UPDATE: Guards Indicted for Negligence in Death of Nimali Henry

St. Bernard prison employees indicted for negligence in inmate death

A federal grand jury on Thursday (Dec. 3) indicted four St. Bernard Parish Prison employees in the death last year of inmate Nimali Henry. The indictment accuses Andre Dominick, Timothy Williams, Debra Becnel and Lisa Vaccarella of failing to provide proper medication and treatment to Henry, who suffered from a rare blood disorder.

All four defendants also are accused of civil rights violations, as well as making false statements to the FBI. They have been placed on indefinite administrative leave, St. Bernard Parish Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

The accused correctional officers have been named for the first time with the indictment, which came about eight months after the FBI intervened in a civil rights lawsuit against the St. Bernard Sheriff's Office.

The civil suit, filed by the father of Henry's baby daughter on the daughter's behalf, was put on hold pending the outcome of the criminal investigation.

None of the defendants could be reached Thursday evening at publicly listed phone numbers. Court records do not list their attorneys.

Henry was found face down in an isolation cell in April 2014. A coroner's report found she likely died of a blood clot. In addition to the civil rights charges, the indictment accuses all four defendants of providing false statements to the FBI, as follows:

• Dominick, a captain, told agents that Henry and another individual, "D.S.", were not aware of Henry's medical conditions. In fact, both Henry and D.S. informed Dominick of the condition, according to the indictment.
• Williams, a corporal, falsely told agents he'd spoken with another individual, J.C., about Henry's condition the weekend before her death, and that he had checked on her in the hours before her death, according to the indictment.
• Becnel, a deputy, falsely told agents that Henry, as well as other inmates, had not told her about her condition, according to the indictment.
• Vaccarella falsely told agents she saw Henry walk into a dorm, lie on the ground and stand up and walk on her own, without difficulty, according to the indictment, which also accuses Vaccarella of discussing her observations with a supervisor. In fact, prosecutors say, Vaccarella watched Henry fall to the dorm floor and left her there, without discussing the indicident with the supervisor. 

Pohlmann said he's still learning about the circumstances that led to Henry's death, as he hasn't spoken to any of the defendants since the FBI became involved in March. He declined to comment on whether the allegations might lead to any changes of procedure at the jail.

"I don't know a lot of the facts that resulted in the indictment today," Pohlmann said. "I'm hoping to meet with the U.S. Attorney's Office soon to maybe get briefed up on more of the detailed facts."

If convicted, the defendants face maximum lifetime prison sentences for the civil rights charges and five-year sentences for making false statements to the FBI, according to a news release from U.S. Attorney Kenneth Polite's office.

Also read related article, FBI Launches Civil Rights Probe in St. Bernard Prison

Source: Nola

Photo credit to DeShawna Henry, sister of Nimali Henry