RANKIN COUNTY, Miss. (WJTV) – Three former Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) officials were sentenced on Wednesday, October 25, 2023, for using excessive force against an inmate.  

According to court documents, on July 11, 2019, at the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility (CMCF), Officer Jessica Hill, Officer LaToya Richardson and Case Manager Nicole Moore assaulted a defenseless inmate, L.C., while L.C. was in the fetal position and not resisting in any fashion.

Prosecutors said Hill struck L.C. several times with a cannister and then repeatedly punched her in the head. Richardson kicked the inmate four times in the head and upper torso, and Moore kicked L.C. one time in the back of the head. Hill continued to strike L.C. until fellow prison staff intervened to stop Hill’s assault.

All three defendants previously pled guilty to their respective roles assaulting L.C., in violation of the inmate’s Eighth Amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment.

Hill was sentenced to three years and one month in prison, two years of supervised release and a $1,500 fine. Richardson was sentenced to three years and one month in prison, two years of supervised release and a $1,500 fine. Moore was sentenced to two years in prison, two years of supervised release and a $1,500 fine.

The FBI Jackson Field Office investigated the case.