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Pocono News Section
Prisoner Severely Beaten While in Luzerne County Prison
Prisoner Severely Beaten While in Luzerne County Prison - Friday, March 28, 2008 at 5:42PM EST
Reported by: Andy Mehalshick
Friday, Mar 28, 2008 @05:42pm EST
WILKES-BARRE- His face had to be rebuilt. He has 140 stictches and he can barely talk. The end result of an alleged beating inside the Luzerne County Prison, at the hands of prison guards. Now an investigation is under way and it is an I-team exclusive.
We have been working on the story for weeks. His family did not to speak out until their son was released from prison, fearing for his safety. Now, an investigation is underway by the Luzerne County District Attorney's Office, the Luzerne County Commissioners, and the FBI.
23 year old Jimmy Menninger of Larksville talked exclusively with us just hours after he was released from the Luzerne County Prison. He can barely speak; His jaw is broken and inside of his mouth is stitched. It all started, he admits, when he called a corrections officer, known as a C. O., a name.
Menninger explained what happened next. "He grabbed me threw me into a pillar. When I fell, after that I guess I grabbed his leg while I was falling. A bunch of C O's tackled me started punching me slammed my face off the cement in my own blood. My hands were handcuffed."
He was taken to Geisinger Wyoming Valley for treatment of his injuries.
Menninger continued "When I got hit on the floor my nose completely cracked to the right side. My orbital bone is fractured. My cheek and jaw plate had to be reset from force of the fists and pressure of face being slammed off cement floor."
Menninger said the guard told him to tell the emergency room that he fell from his bunk. The doctors did not believe that story. They even made a note in the medical report that the injuries were inconsistent with falling off a bunk.
We spoke to Warden Gene Fischi. He said an internal investigation shows that Menninger was the aggressor. Warden Fischi talked to the guards and inmates. He wants the truth to come out and as a result has sent everything to the D. A.’s Office to let the chips fall where they may.
Jim's mother, Rosemary Menninger, just wants justice for her son. "My sense of justice is number 1) every singe guard should be fired. Number 2) they should be charged with assault. If this would have happened outside they would be going to jail. If I did it I'd be going to jail for a while" declared Rosemary.
Jimmy Menninger was being held on a charge of writing a bad check. That charge has been dropped. The Menningers are filing a lawsuit against Luzerne County for injuries and the violation of his civil rights. Luzerne County Commissioner Chairperson Maryanne Petrilla told us she is disturbed by the allegations and wants to know why the commissioners were not aware of these severe injuries. D.A. Jackie Musto Carroll said her office is investigating.
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