FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CRT

FRIDAY, JUNE 16, 2006 (202) 514-2007

WWW.USDOJ.GOV TDD (202) 514-1888

Three Former Wilson County,

Tennessee Corrections Officers
Sentenced for Civil Rights-Related
Charges
WASHINGTON –— The Justice Department today announced that former Wilson
County, Tenn. corrections officers Gary Hale, John McKinney, and William
Westmoreland were sentenced on charges relating to violations of the civil rights of
inmates at the Wilson County Jail in Lebanon, Tenn. Hale was sentenced to nine
years imprisonment and two years supervised release; Westmoreland was sentenced
to three years probation, six months of which is home detention; and McKinney was
sentenced to two years probation

“These defendants violated the public’s trust and broke faith with the proud history
of integrity and professionalism in law enforcement,” said Wan J. Kim, Assistant
Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “As today’s sentencing
demonstrates, the Justice Department will vigorously prosecute and hold
accountable anyone who violates a position of trust by mistreating those entrusted to
their custody.”

Hale, McKinney and Westmoreland all pleaded guilty to federal crimes relating to
their duties as corrections officers on the night shift of the Wilson County Jail
(“Jail”) during 2001-03. Hale pleaded guilty on Dec. 28, 2005, to participating in a
conspiracy to violate the civil rights of inmates at the Jail by assaulting and
depriving them of medical care during 2001-2003, including the events that resulted
in the death of detainee Walter Kuntz in January 2003. McKinney pleaded guilty on
April 9, 2004, to the felony charge of misprision of a felony for failing to report a
September 2002 assault by other guards at the Jail, and Westmoreland pleaded
guilty on Nov. 13, 2003, to participating in July 2001 assault with other guards on a
Jail inmate.

Three other former Wilson County corrections officers – Travis Bradley, Brian
Ferrell, and Christopher McCathern – have been sentenced after pleading guilty to
felony charges relating to violations of the civil rights of inmates at the Wilson
County Jail. In addition, two former Wilson County corrections officers – Tommy
Shane Conatser and Patrick Marlowe – were convicted at trial in January 2006 for
their roles. Marlowe also was convicted of six additional civil rights violations for
assaulting or denying inmates medical care, including the assaults and denial of
medical care that resulted in the death of Walter Kuntz. Conatser was sentenced on
May 12, 2006, to 70 months imprisonment and two-years of supervised release.
Marlowe is scheduled to be sentenced on July 6, 2006.

In announcing the sentencing, Assistant Attorney General Kim commended Middle

District of Tennessee U.S. Attorney Jim Vines and his office, the Criminal Section
of the Civil Rights Division; My Harrison, Special Agent in Charge of the Memphis
Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Tennessee Bureau of
Investigation; and the District Attorney General’s Office for the Fifteenth Judicial
District, for their involvement in this investigation and prosecution of alleged civil
rights violations at the Wilson County Jail.

The Civil Rights Division is committed to the vigorous enforcement of every federal
criminal civil rights statute, such as those laws that prohibit the willful use of
excessive force or other acts of misconduct by law enforcement officials. In fact,
since FY 2001, the Division has convicted 30 percent more defendants in official
misconduct prosecutions than in the preceding five fiscal years.

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