STAR CITY -- A single punch that killed a prisoner at Arkansas' Cummins Unit in 2017 landed his attacker an additional 20-year sentence for manslaughter Tuesday.
A jury in Lincoln County -- where the sprawling state prison farm sits -- deliberated for about 20 minutes before determining that inmate Damont Ewells, 47, had acted "recklessly" in striking another prisoner, James Walker, causing him to fall and fatally hit his head against the concrete floor of the barrack's bathroom.
It took another 13 minutes for the jurors to recommend the maximum sentence for manslaughter. Circuit Judge Jodi Dennis followed the jury's recommendation in imposing the sentence.
Walker's death in September 2017 occurred during violent outbreaks that plagued the state prison system that summer and fall.
Incidents at Cummins and the Varner Unit, also in Lincoln County, injured several inmates and guards, according to criminal affidavits that have come out since. That August, several inmates at the Tucker Maximum Security Unit in nearby Jefferson County were able to take as hostages staff members at the prison, leading to a three-hour standoff that resulted in an injury to another inmate.
In the case of Walker's death, prison officials for months did not disclose that they believed the death was a homicide, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette previously reported.
At Ewells' trial Tuesday, testimony revealed that prison staff members initially believed that Walker's fall stemmed from a medical condition.
Brandon Baker, a corrections sergeant at the Cummins Unit, testified that he heard a bang while in the barracks. He rushed into the bathroom, where he found Walker lying face up in a "pool of blood."
He said Ewells was "just standing around" with his shirt off.
Walker was rushed from the prison to the hospital, where he died the next day, according to court records. When members of the Arkansas State Police, the investigative agency, arrived at the prison the afternoon of the assault, they found that the bathroom where Walker fell had been cleaned, leaving no evidence to gather.
A prison spokesman previously said the scene was cleaned because "initially, there was no indication of an altercation."
Two inmates who said they saw Ewells throw the punch testified Tuesday that Walker appeared to be instantly knocked out, causing him to fall. Neither said they saw Walker hit back.
"I can't say that I know what it was about," testified Alan Tyson, a 52-year-old inmate at the Cummins Unit. "I didn't even see them arguing, I just saw a punch."
Taking the witness stand as part of his own defense, Ewells said he "blacked out" and didn't remember the fight. Wiping back tears, Ewells described Walker as one of his few friends in the barracks, where he said he was picked on by other inmates because of his size and a limp right arm that was left partially paralyzed from a gunshot wound in the 1990s.
The only thing Ewells said he remembered about that morning was verbally confronting Walker about the latest round of teasing.
"I don't think he did nothing, but I'm sure he said something," Ewells said.
Ewells' attorney, Keith Hall, told jurors that Walker's deadly fall was an "accident" for which Ewells deserved leniency.
"There is no evidence that he pummeled him while he was down," Hall said.
As Hall's arguments proved unpersuasive with the jury, it appeared to lead to tension at the defense table. Ewells, shackled at the legs and wearing a white prison jumpsuit and blue kufi cap, argued with his attorney while jurors were in the back room considering the prosecution's request for a 20-year sentence, to be added consecutively to his 63-year sentence for drug convictions. Prosecutors argued that Ewells could shorten both sentences by up to one-sixth the time if he behaves well in prison. Ewells, who entered the prison system in 2007, was eligible for parole in 2036 before the trial.
"They're making it look like I'm about to get out any day," Ewells told his lawyer.
Walker's mother and father, Jacqueline and Huey Kinsey of Florida, each spoke during the sentencing phase about their son's "kindness." Several jurors also saw the Kinseys comfort Walker's young daughter, who sat in the audience wearing a shirt that read "Long Live Hot," which was Walker's nickname.
Ewells' aunt, Mary Hobson, also testified, saying that years in prison had matured her nephew.
Hobson later reacted to the verdict, saying Ewells is "a better person than that. You know how it goes."
Huey Kinsey, Walker's father, expressed satisfaction with the verdict. Despite the defense's contention that his son's death was an accident, Kinsey said Ewells had needlessly escalated an argument into violence.
"I don't think that's the kind of friend that any person wants, especially in prison," Kinsey said.
Metro on 08/28/2019