Violence in US prisons: Two supervising officers fired from Georgia prison

In the US State of Georgia, two correction officers resigned after a disturbing photo was posted on Facebook. The photo depicted a beaten teenage inmate with a leash around his neck standing on his knees in front of two other inmates. 

The victim on the photo was identified as Cortez Berry. His relatives saw the disturbing photos on Facebook and went to the prison to find out what had happened. As it turned out, the guards were unaware that he had been beaten, Pravda.Ru reports.  

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The relatives were horrified that Berry was initially transferred to Smith State Prison, a notoriously violent lockup. Correction officials portrayed that as an emergency stopgap measure. 

The two supervising officers involved in the incident have resigned. The incident is still under investigation, officials said. 

Berry was imprisoned at Burruss for violating probation on charges of juvenile aggravated assault, robbery and car theft. According to the victim, a group of fellow inmates tried to get him to join a gang called the Gangster Disciples. When Berry refused to join the gang, they attacked him and took the photo, which they subsequently posted on Facebook. 

The case of Cortez Berry exposed both violence in Georgia prisons and the growing use of smuggled cellphones by inmates.

Read article on the Russian version of Pravda.Ru