The prison inmate claims he was attacked and that guards did nothing to protect him

CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – As Derrick Cody stood outside the Clayton County Jail last April, he was worried.

“It’s kind of unsettling to remember it and be here again,” the 35-year-old said.

According to prison security video obtained by Atlanta News investigates firstIn July 2023, several inmates attacked Cody with apparent knives or stabs as he pleaded with correctional officers to open a door to escape.

“Look, I’m getting stabbed,” Cody told the officers. “And then he finally opened the door.”

Cody, who was jailed on pending property damage charges, suffered stab wounds to his stomach, leg and back. When he arrived at the hospital, a piece of metal was lodged in his body.

“I didn’t even want to look when (the nurse) pulled,” Cody said. “I told her to get it out as quickly as possible because I don’t want to think about the pain.”

Four inmates were arrested and charged with aggravated assault, battery, attempted incitement to riot and other charges.

According to the incident report, the attack was in response to a failed attempt to convince Cody to transfer money to a Cash App account, a phone application that transfers money electronically.

“They basically demanded, ‘We’re going to stab you, if you don’t find a way to give us some money then we’re going to hurt you,'” Cody said.

The day before the attack, Cody said he got into an argument with a correctional officer over phone use. He said he felt threatened but didn’t think more about it until he learned of an arrest by the same officer a few months later.

Former officer Jalen Clausell was arrested by the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office last November for allegedly helping several inmates attack an inmate.

Nearly a year ago, the sheriff’s office arrested former correctional officer Sean Hollistad for plotting a “vicious attack on an inmate in his custody whom he was sworn to protect.”

Around the same time, the sheriff’s office arrested two other jail employees on theft charges, including Iyana Niara Dixon. She is accused of using a stolen credit card at least five times. Dixon was seen using the card at Macy’s.

Another officer, Sarai Tatiana Ali, was arrested two weeks before Cody’s attack. The sheriff’s office says she allegedly “assisted wanted individuals and shared confidential information, which resulted in her encouraging her crew to steal from inmates.”

All former officers were fired and pleaded not guilty. According to the Clayton County District Attorney’s Office, their charges are still pending. Prosecutors have not yet presented Clausell’s case to a grand jury.

Thomas Reynolds, Cody’s attorney, plans to file a lawsuit against the sheriff’s office soon, saying the agency failed to protect his client.

“If you see an inmate screaming for help, screaming for help, banging on the window, demanding your attention and your help and your help because their life is in danger, you have a duty to respond,” Reynolds said .

In April, Atlanta News investigates first sent the video and incident report to Sheriff Levon Allen, who said he would review the case and provide a response, but has not yet done so.

Atlanta News investigates first shared the video with Devin Franklin, an attorney with the Southern Center for Human Rights. “I’m angry that he’s not being protected,” Franklin said after watching the video.

Franklin said Cody’s attack highlights the consequences of Georgia’s extraordinary incarceration rates. According to the Prison Policy Initiate, Georgia incarcerates 968 people per 100,000.

Not only is this the highest in the United States; There is a higher percentage of people behind bars than in any other free democratic country on earth. Almost half of them are in local prisons.

“These are innocent people,” Franklin said. “Whether they are later found guilty is a fact that is irrelevant to the question of whether those responsible for their custody fulfilled their constitutional duties to protect them.”

The Southern Center for Human Rights said Georgia can reduce its prison population and reduce violent attacks in prisons by eliminating cash bail and reducing court backlogs that lead to people being held too long before their court date.

“Who will protect you?” asked Cody, who is out on bail and whose case is still pending. “The guards can’t protect you. When you walk into the Clayton County Jail, you have to have the mindset of, ‘I could die here.'”

If you would like Atlanta News First Investigative Reporter Andy Pierrotti to investigate, send an email [email protected].

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