Three Mississippi officers fired for beating of Hawaii inmate

Three workers at a privately run Mississippi prison were fired after they were videotaped beating an inmate from Hawaii, according to the Hawaii Department of Public Safety. The inmate, 55-year-old Harry K. Hoopii, was taken to the hospital with injuries including multiple facial bruises, swelling and a cut lip, said Shari Kimoto, administrator of the department's branch on the mainland. He was beaten after allegedly assaulting two corrections officers at the Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility on Feb. 23, Kimoto said. The prison is managed by Corrections Corporation of America. He was then taken to a disciplinary holding cell in another part of the prison, where his beating allegedly occurred, she said. It is regular procedure for a Special Operations Response Team to use force against a violent inmate, but the assistant warden and chief of security at the prison determined that this incident went too far, Kimoto said. They "realized that excessive force had been used," she said. Two captains and a sergeant were fired for violating the policies of Corrections Corporation of America.  [more] and [more]