Erin Sharma
Encyclopedia
Erin J. Sharma is a former corrections officer sentenced to life in prison for causing the beating death of an inmate at the maximum security unit of the Coleman Federal Correctional Complex
near Coleman, Florida
. Prosecutors said that after inmate Richard Delano grabbed her arm through a food slot and bruised it, she arranged for him to be assigned to share a cell with a notoriously violent inmate, knowing he would be harmed.
# 08784-041), a convicted methamphetamine
dealer, grabbed Sharma's arm through a food slot, bruising it. She then said to him, "You're a dead man". She received minor first aid treatment and was sent home for the rest of the day.
On March 1, Delano, who had a reputation as a snitch
,
was transferred into a cell with John Javilo "Animal" McCullah (Federal Bureau of Prisons # 03040-063), a convicted murderer who had assaulted all previous cellmates.
Prior to the transfer, witnesses overheard Sharma encouraging McCullah to attack Delano, but to do so on a day when she was not at work.
On March 4, while Sharma was on a three-day vacation, Delano was beaten into a coma, dying 13 days later.
Sharma was charged with depriving Delano of his civil rights
by conspiring to have him killed, and with violating his Constitutional right not to be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment
.
In his opening statement, federal prosecutor Douglas Kern told the jury that putting Delano into a cell with McCullah "was like putting a sheep in a cage with a wolf". Kern described McCullah as a "hugely violent, racist gang member inmate" who was a member of the prison gang Aryan Brotherhood
. He described Sharma as the "puppet master," and McCullah as her puppet.
FBI agent James Raby testified about three unrecorded interviews conducted with Sharma following the assault. Raby said Sharma had acknowledged knowing Delano's reputation as a snitch, knowing that McCullah was notoriously violent, and knowing that the shared cell arrangement would invariably lead to an assault. He said Sharma had expressed regret about the assault. Various witnesses described Sharma as a vengeful officer who played favorites and hated snitches.
When her own turn to testify came, Sharma denied having made the statements that Raby testified to, and denied telling him that she felt "haunted" by the assault. She said her threats were clearly jokes, and that she "treated those inmates almost like they were my kids."
On July 29, 2009, the jury found Sharma guilty of two felony
federal civil rights violations.
herself on the witness stand when disputing the testimony of federal agent Raby. That perjury qualified Sharma for a two-level obstruction of justice
upward adjustment in the federal sentencing guidelines, to life in prison. Sharma's attorney said he would file an appeal. The appeal failed, and on August 24, 2010, the Eleventh Circuit of the US Court of Appeals
affirmed Sharma's convictions and life sentence.
As of October 29, 2009, Sharma was housed in protective custody
at the county jail in Orange County, Florida
pending review of her pre-sentencing report
by the Bureau of Prisons
and their decision on a federal prison assignment. It is unlikely she will be assigned to Coleman, the prison where she worked and where her husband is a corrections supervisor. Wherever she is assigned, as a former corrections officer she will not be part of the general prison population. As of January 6, 2010, Sharma, Federal Bureau of Prisons
# 05026-748, is listed as "In Transit" on the BOP website.
As of 7/1/2010, she is located at Sacramento CCM on the BOP website.
Following the fatal assault, McCullah was assigned to finish his life sentence at ADX Florence
, a supermax
prison in Florence, Colorado.
On November 2, 2009, the U.S. Justice Department announced that a grand jury had indicted Kennedy on one count of conspiring to violate Delano's federal civil rights and one count of violating his civil rights by arranging for another inmate to assault him.
On July 8, 2010, Kennedy was found guilty of both civil rights counts. The jury did not reach a unanimous finding that the violations resulted in Delano's death.
He was sentenced to nine years in federal prison.
Coleman Federal Correctional Complex
Coleman Federal Correctional Complex is a prison complex operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Located south of the town of Coleman, Florida in an unincorporated area of Sumter County off U.S...
near Coleman, Florida
Coleman, Florida
Coleman is a city in Sumter County, Florida, United States. The population was 647 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S Census estimates of 2005, the city had a population of 679.-Geography:Coleman is located at ....
. Prosecutors said that after inmate Richard Delano grabbed her arm through a food slot and bruised it, she arranged for him to be assigned to share a cell with a notoriously violent inmate, knowing he would be harmed.
Inmate death
On February 3, 2005, Richard Allen Delano (Federal Bureau of PrisonsFederal Bureau of Prisons
The Federal Bureau of Prisons is a federal law enforcement agency subdivision of the United States Department of Justice and is responsible for the administration of the federal prison system. The system also handles prisoners who committed acts considered felonies under the District of Columbia's...
# 08784-041), a convicted methamphetamine
Methamphetamine
Methamphetamine is a psychostimulant of the phenethylamine and amphetamine class of psychoactive drugs...
dealer, grabbed Sharma's arm through a food slot, bruising it. She then said to him, "You're a dead man". She received minor first aid treatment and was sent home for the rest of the day.
On March 1, Delano, who had a reputation as a snitch
Informant
An informant is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law enforcement world, where they are officially known as confidential or criminal informants , and can often refer pejoratively to the supply of information...
,
was transferred into a cell with John Javilo "Animal" McCullah (Federal Bureau of Prisons # 03040-063), a convicted murderer who had assaulted all previous cellmates.
Prior to the transfer, witnesses overheard Sharma encouraging McCullah to attack Delano, but to do so on a day when she was not at work.
On March 4, while Sharma was on a three-day vacation, Delano was beaten into a coma, dying 13 days later.
Sharma was charged with depriving Delano of his civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
by conspiring to have him killed, and with violating his Constitutional right not to be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment
Cruel and unusual punishment
Cruel and unusual punishment is a phrase describing criminal punishment which is considered unacceptable due to the suffering or humiliation it inflicts on the condemned person...
.
Trial
At the federal trial in Orlando, the prosecution showed that Sharma and an alleged corrections officer co-conspirator knew that McCullah, who had been placed on special single-cell hold status, was likely to assault Delano.In his opening statement, federal prosecutor Douglas Kern told the jury that putting Delano into a cell with McCullah "was like putting a sheep in a cage with a wolf". Kern described McCullah as a "hugely violent, racist gang member inmate" who was a member of the prison gang Aryan Brotherhood
Aryan Brotherhood
The Aryan Brotherhood, also known as The Brand, the AB, or the One-Two, is a white supremacist prison gang and organized crime syndicate in the United States with about 20,000 members in and out of prison...
. He described Sharma as the "puppet master," and McCullah as her puppet.
FBI agent James Raby testified about three unrecorded interviews conducted with Sharma following the assault. Raby said Sharma had acknowledged knowing Delano's reputation as a snitch, knowing that McCullah was notoriously violent, and knowing that the shared cell arrangement would invariably lead to an assault. He said Sharma had expressed regret about the assault. Various witnesses described Sharma as a vengeful officer who played favorites and hated snitches.
When her own turn to testify came, Sharma denied having made the statements that Raby testified to, and denied telling him that she felt "haunted" by the assault. She said her threats were clearly jokes, and that she "treated those inmates almost like they were my kids."
On July 29, 2009, the jury found Sharma guilty of two felony
Felony
A felony is a serious crime in the common law countries. The term originates from English common law where felonies were originally crimes which involved the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods; other crimes were called misdemeanors...
federal civil rights violations.
Sentence
On October 26, 2009, Senior U.S. District Judge Patricia C. Fawsett sentenced the 33-year-old Sharma to life in prison based on the underlying crime of second degree murder. Judge Fawsett said Delano's death was "an expectable result" of the transfer. Fawsett also found that Sharma had perjuredPerjury
Perjury, also known as forswearing, is the willful act of swearing a false oath or affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to a judicial proceeding. That is, the witness falsely promises to tell the truth about matters which affect the outcome of the...
herself on the witness stand when disputing the testimony of federal agent Raby. That perjury qualified Sharma for a two-level obstruction of justice
Obstruction of justice
The crime of obstruction of justice, in United States jurisdictions, refers to the crime of interfering with the work of police, investigators, regulatory agencies, prosecutors, or other officials...
upward adjustment in the federal sentencing guidelines, to life in prison. Sharma's attorney said he would file an appeal. The appeal failed, and on August 24, 2010, the Eleventh Circuit of the US Court of Appeals
United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* Middle District of Alabama...
affirmed Sharma's convictions and life sentence.
As of October 29, 2009, Sharma was housed in protective custody
Protective custody
Protective custody is a type of imprisonment to protect a prisoner from harm, either from outside sources or other prisoners. Many administrators believe the level of violence, or the underlying threat of violence within prisoners, is a chief factor causing the need for PC units...
at the county jail in Orange County, Florida
Orange County, Florida
Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida and is part of the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford Metropolitan Statistical Area . As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 1,145,956....
pending review of her pre-sentencing report
Presentence Investigation
A presentence investigation report is a legal term referring to the investigation into the history of person convicted of a crime before sentencing to determine if there are extenuating circumstances which should ameliorate the sentence or a history of criminal behavior to increase the harshness...
by the Bureau of Prisons
Federal Bureau of Prisons
The Federal Bureau of Prisons is a federal law enforcement agency subdivision of the United States Department of Justice and is responsible for the administration of the federal prison system. The system also handles prisoners who committed acts considered felonies under the District of Columbia's...
and their decision on a federal prison assignment. It is unlikely she will be assigned to Coleman, the prison where she worked and where her husband is a corrections supervisor. Wherever she is assigned, as a former corrections officer she will not be part of the general prison population. As of January 6, 2010, Sharma, Federal Bureau of Prisons
Federal Bureau of Prisons
The Federal Bureau of Prisons is a federal law enforcement agency subdivision of the United States Department of Justice and is responsible for the administration of the federal prison system. The system also handles prisoners who committed acts considered felonies under the District of Columbia's...
# 05026-748, is listed as "In Transit" on the BOP website.
As of 7/1/2010, she is located at Sacramento CCM on the BOP website.
Following the fatal assault, McCullah was assigned to finish his life sentence at ADX Florence
ADX Florence
The United States Penitentiary Administrative Maximum Facility is a supermax prison for men that is located in unincorporated Fremont County, Colorado, United States, south of Florence. It is unofficially known as ADX Florence, Florence ADMAX, Supermax, or The Alcatraz of the Rockies...
, a supermax
Supermax
Supermax is the name used to describe "control-unit" prisons, or units within prisons, which represent the most secure levels of custody in the prison systems of certain countries...
prison in Florence, Colorado.
Second officer
During Sharma's trial, agent Raby testified that it was Michael Kennedy, Sharma's supervisor at Coleman, who proposed the cell transfer, believing that McCullah would give Delano "a good [butt] kicking and head-knocking".On November 2, 2009, the U.S. Justice Department announced that a grand jury had indicted Kennedy on one count of conspiring to violate Delano's federal civil rights and one count of violating his civil rights by arranging for another inmate to assault him.
On July 8, 2010, Kennedy was found guilty of both civil rights counts. The jury did not reach a unanimous finding that the violations resulted in Delano's death.
He was sentenced to nine years in federal prison.