US judge hears lawsuit claiming NC inmates beaten

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – A federal judge is keeping alive a lawsuit accusing guards at North Carolina’s maximum security prison of sadistically beating inmates.

U.S. District Judge Terrence Boyle on Thursday heard from one of eight inmates at Central Prison in Raleigh who said they were severely beaten after guards took them to a spot they knew cameras didn’t watch.

Boyle heard inmate Jerome Peters describe a beating that broke his right hip and fractured bones in his hand and face while he was in the prison’s solitary confinement. A state attorney said a guard reported Peters tried spitting on him.

Boyle says he wants the prison to install cameras to watch the blind spots and save the video for two months. State lawyers say the cameras were installed in May.

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