Attica Guards Go on Trial in Gang Assault Case

WNYC News | Mar 2, 2015

The trial of three guards at the Attica Correctional Facility gets underway in Western New York Monday.

Keith Swack, Sean Warner and Matthew Rademacher are accused of beating then-29-year-old inmate George Williams in 2011. They face charges of gang assault and tampering with physical evidence.

Williams, who was serving time for stealing jewelry from two Manhattan stores in 2008 and 2009, suffered broken bones in his legs and face. The charges follow a four-month investigation by the Department of Corrections, state police and the Inspector General's Office.

Jury selection is scheduled to start Monday morning in the town of Warsaw, the county seat located 10 miles from Attica.

In a detailed account written for The Marshall Project, journalist Tom Robbins wrote about the case and the troubled history of Attica and New York's maximum security prisons.

With reporting from the Associated Press.

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