JAILERS' FATE NOW IN HANDS OF JURY

GALVESTON -- A jury will begin deliberating today the case against law
enforcement officers accused of violating the civil rights of a
Missouri inmate three years ago, when he was bitten by a police dog
and roughed up by jailers at the Brazoria County Detention Center.

After jurors heard final arguments Thursday, an alternate juror
released from service expressed doubts that federal prosecutors showed
the three defendants acted maliciously, which the government must
prove to win a conviction.

"I did not get that," said the Pearland woman, who asked not to be
identified.

She said she believes the defendants, charged with inflicting cruel
and unusual punishment on a 22-year old convict, acted out of fear
when they manhandled Missouri inmates who had been brought to Brazoria
County in 1996.

"I think they were all frightened there was a possibility of there
being weapons" among the inmates, she said. She added that she was
leaning toward acquittal, but might have voted to convict on a lesser
charge.

On trial are David Cisneros, 39, a former canine officer for the
Brazoria County Sheriff's Department now employed by the Lake Jackson
police; Robert Percival, 37, who's still employed by the sheriff's
department; and Wilton David Wallace, 52, a former employee of a
private jail management firm who had been deputized as a jailer to
oversee the Missouri inmates.

During final arguments before U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt, the
three defendants' attorneys told jurors their clients' alleged
mistreatment of Toby Hawthorne, a convicted murderer from East St.
Louis, Ill., was either unintentional, accidental or simply didn't
occur.

They disputed the government's contention that a videotape shows
Hawthorne being kicked in the groin and head.

While there was no disagreement that Hawthorne and two other inmates
were bitten by a police dog that was used to help roust the prisoners
from their dormitory-style living quarters, the attorney for Cisneros
told jurors the dog bites were accidental.

"He didn't sic the dog on anybody," lawyer Tex Tonroy told
jurors.

The defense lawyers stressed that the climate in the jail was tense
after the arrival of the Missouri inmates, who were verbally abusive
and recently had rioted at another jail in South Texas.

At least three homemade weapons had been found among the belongings of
the inmates after they were transferred from Crystal City to the jail
outside Angleton, according to testimony.

Federal prosecutors, however, said that the force used on the Missouri
inmate was unnecessary and served no legitimate law enforcement purpose.

"This case is about the trust our state and our country places with
guards and jailers," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Gerald Doyle. "This
is a case about whether they are above the law."

During his testimony Friday, Cisneros conceded under cross-
examination that there was no law enforcement justification for his
dog to bite the Missouri prisoners, though he insisted he didn't
intend for the animal to bite them.

He also admitted that the report he submitted to justify his dog's
actions was fabricated.