PRISON GUARDS INVOLVED IN CONSPIRACY

JACKSONVILLE - A former inmate says Florida State Prison guards and
other personnel took part in an effort to hide his beating.

A former Florida State Prison inmate, who claims his jaw was broken
when he was beaten by guards, has filed a federal lawsuit claiming his
civil rights were violated.

The suit filed Tuesday on behalf of Willie Mathews, who had a metal
plate embedded in his face after surgery for a shattered jaw, said 21
corrections officers either participated in or witnessed his beating
on X-wing, the prison's disciplinary unit.

The lawsuit also alleges Warden James Crosby, other prison officials
and medical personnel became part of a conspiracy to cover up the
guards' actions.

Mathews is seeking actual and punitive damages in the suit filed at
federal court in Jacksonville, said attorney Guy Rubin.

Other beating victims may be added to the lawsuit, Rubin said
Wednesday.

Mathews and four other inmates arrived at the Starke prison July 4
from Hamilton Correctional Institution in Jasper, where they were
accused of assaulting two officers.

Guards put a pillowcase over his head, tied a rope around his neck,
and knocked him and dragged him down a staircase July 5, the suit says.

After that, Mathews said he remained in solitary confinement for nine
days without medical attention. He claims Inspector General Tim
Gieberg, prison dentist James Poston and an unnamed nurse knew about
his broken jaw.

The lawsuit names 12 officers, nine officers listed only as John Doe
and a nurse listed as Nurse Doe. They are accused of participating in
abuse or covering it up.

As agents of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement descended on
the prison July 19 to investigate the death of X-wing inmate Frank
Valdes two days before, Mathews was taken to the department's North
Florida Reception Center.

Mathews later underwent jaw surgery at Shands Hospital in
Gainesville.

The lawsuit said Valdes, who died after a confrontation with guards,
was beaten because he complained that Mathews and the four other
inmates from Hamilton had been denied medical treatment.