Guards Accused in Inmate Deaths
By DAVID ROYSE, AP
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - An inmate sentenced to die for killing a prison guard
in 1987 was beaten to death in his cell over the weekend by prison guards, according to
authorities who have started a murder investigation.
Frank Valdez was found dead in his cell at the Florida State Prison in Starke
after a brawl Saturday. Prosecutors said he had broken ribs and boot marks on his body.
Nine guards have been suspended pending an investigation. Tim Moore,
commissioner of the state Department of Law Enforcement, said his agents were questioning
the guards, trying to find ``somebody to come forward and tell the truth.'' ``The
time has come for them to decide who wants to be a defendant and who wants to be a
witness,'' he said Wednesday. ``And I'm talking about a defendant in a murder trial, not a
minor infraction.''
Valdez, 36, shot and killed a prison guard while trying to help a friend break
out. Valdez was free at the time. He was in a prison wing for particularly violent
prisoners and had been known as a troublemaker. Guards said he had been found with knives
in his cell in the past.
A lawyer for the guards acknowledged a fight in which Valdez was badly bruised
but said that the injuries didn't lead to his death and that Valdez was given a checkup
and cleared to return to his cell.
Bill Johnson, a police union lawyer for the guards, said Valdez climbed on the
bars and flung himself to the floor several times. He was being monitored and
officers found him on the floor unconscious. They entered his cell and found him not
breathing, Johnson said.
He also said during searches of guards' homes, law enforcement officers seized
the clothes and boots they were wearing the day Valdez died.
