For destroying video footage of a prisoner’s fatal stabbing, the Georgia Department of Corrections has been sanctioned by a federal judge in an associated lawsuit against the officer blamed for allowing the attack.
Chief U.S. District Judge Leslie Gardner has cleared the way for the civil case over Hakeem Williams’ 2022 death to be heard by a jury in Valdosta. She noted in a Wednesday order the state agency will be on the hook for any verdict and associated judgment against its former employee, Angela Butler, who was sued by the mother of Williams’ only child.