By Ciara Perez, Investigative Journalist | iSkyCreations – News & Media (ISC)
Published Jan 31st, 2024
Ocala, FL – a courtroom in Ocala, Florida, the atmosphere was tense as the verdict was read out. Walter Lamar Jackson, a 43-year-old inmate from Georgia, was found guilty by a federal jury of a shocking assault on his cellmate, an incident that has highlighted the issue of violence within the prison system.
United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced the verdict, marking the end of a trial that has captured local attention. Jackson was convicted of assault resulting in serious bodily harm within the special maritime or territorial jurisdiction of the United States. The severity of his crime is clear, as he now faces up to 10 years in federal prison. The date for his sentencing has been scheduled for June 20, 2024, and will be presided over by Senior United States District Judge John Antoon II. This verdict follows his indictment by a grand jury back in August 2022.
The assault, which took place on July 15, 2021, at the Federal Correctional Complex Coleman in Sumter County, was as brutal as it was sudden. According to trial testimony and evidence, Jackson, in a special housing unit cell with another inmate, launched a violent attack on his cellmate around 5:50 p.m. Correctional officers, responding to an emergency alarm, discovered a harrowing scene: Jackson’s cellmate, unconscious on the floor, with Jackson slamming his head into the concrete. The victim’s injuries were severe.