Webb resident Melvin Hilson, 49, currently a deputy warden with the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman, has been indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly beating an inmate and then trying to cover it up, the U.S. Justice Department announced Tuesday.
Hilson is accused of deprivation of civil rights — specifically, the right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment — for allegedly assaulting an inmate "by repeatedly striking him and, at times, striking and knocking [him] to the ground, and then pulling him up, only to strike him and knock him to the ground again" during an incident in Parchman's Unit 42, according to the indictment. The inmate was injured in the assault, the indictment notes.
The incident reportedly occurred in August 2016, when Hilson was a member of the K-9 Unit at the prison.
The June 24 indictment also alleges that Hilson subsequently wrote a false report to conceal his unlawful assault and, later, lied to investigators from the Mississippi Department of Corrections when questioned about the assault.
On Monday, Hilson waived his right to appear at arraignment and entered a plea of not guilty on all charges, court documents show.
During a Tuesday hearing, the matter was set for trial on Aug. 23 before U.S. District Judge Michael P. Mills in Oxford.
The case was investigated by the Jackson Division of the FBI and is being prosecuted in U.S. District Court at Oxford by Special Litigation Counsel Samantha Trepel and trial attorney Cameron Bell of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Mims.
Hilson is represented by Assistant Federal Public Defender Merrill K. Nordstrom of Oxford.
If convicted on all three felony counts, Hilson could face up to 50 years imprisonment and fines of up to $750,000.
The indictment was announced Tuesday by Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Clay Joyner for the Northern District of Mississippi and FBI Jackson Special Agent in Charge Michelle Sutphin.
