Cop Offered Inmates Honey Buns to Murder Another 17 Year Old Inmate
This is downright disgusting.
A Miami officer is facing life after asking an inmate to kill another man in exchange for Honey Buns.
Dangling rewards and special privileges before young inmates, an officer at Miami's juvenile lockup masterminded an attack on another inmate who was beaten so severely that he died, according to a federal indictment unsealed Monday.
As part of a coded bounty system known in prison vernacular as "honey-bunning" â for the sweet rolls sometimes offered as rewards â detention officer Antwan Lenard Johnson ordered the attack on 17-year-old Elord Revolte at the Miami-Dade Juvenile Detention Center in August 2015, the indictment says. The document refers to the victim as "E.R." because he was a minor at the time of his death.
At a news conference, federal prosecutors in Miami announced charges Monday afternoon against Johnson for civil rights violations that resulted in Revolte's death.
"This cannot and will not stand," said Benjamin Greenberg, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida. "The United States Constitution protects every person in the country, including those who are detained in juvenile detention facilities. When an officer abuses his or her badge and violates the civil rights of another person, this office and the FBI will hold that officer accountable."
Greenberg acknowledged that the practice of honey-bunning is commonly used at juvenile detention centers in Florida. However, he declined to comment on the specifics of any other investigations.
Johnson "operated a bounty system in order to help ensure obedience and officer respect," the indictment alleges. He also encouraged juvenile detainees, in exchange for rewards and privileges such as extra recreational time or snacks, to assault Revolte, it says.
Last fall, the Miami Herald series "Fight Club" examined a statewide system in Florida in which officers use honey buns, candy bars and other food from employee vending machines to entice their young wards to use violence on another inmate as a form of punishment.
The Department of Juvenile Justice has previously denied that it was aware of such a system, according to The Herald. In a statement Monday, Secretary Christina Daly, the head of the department, said it was moving to fire Johnson. -(Erik Ortiz and Jonathan Sperling, NBC News)