A horrifying murder was committed four months ago and despite the killers being known, not a single thing has happened to them. The murder victim was Samuel Harrell, a Black prisoner living with bipolar disorder who was serving time in the Fishkill Correctional Facility in New York. After a mental health episode, in which he announced he was going home despite still having years to serve, officers wrestled him to the floor and handcuffed him. Edwin Pearson, one of at least 19 prisoners who witnessed the incident, has testified that a gang of 20 officers known as the “Beat Up Squad” then arrived and proceeded to punch, kick and jump on Harrell “like he was a trampoline” while yelling racial epithets. The gang then threw Harrell down a flight of stairs, concluding the fatal beating.
One prisoner wrote that Harrell lay at the bottom of the stairs “bent in an impossible position,” adding, “His eyes were open, but they weren’t looking at anything.” Harrell died as a result of this brutal attack, according to Orange County medical examiner’s autopsy report.
Harrell’s family continues to suffer with the loss, especially knowing the horrific abuse that caused his death. Diane Harrell, Samuel’s wife, told Truthout: “I cannot bear the thought of my husband’s last few minutes of life. I cannot help but visualize his beaten body. I know he suffered. I know he felt excruciating pain. I cannot help but wonder what his final thoughts were. I imagine he thought about us, his family.”
Diane Harrell. (Photo: Ignacio Acevedo)Cerissa Harrell, Samuel’s sister, certainly continues to mourn. She stated: “It has been four months and six days since I lost a brother and a friend. There aren’t any words to express the intense feeling of loss I go through every day and every night. I miss him so much … He wasn’t just an inmate. He was a brother, son, grandson, uncle, nephew, cousin and friend to so many people … Ask everyone who knew him: Sam was a gentle soul.” Cerissa added, “Sam’s life was stolen from him. He was only 30 years old. He had so much more life to live.”
Cerissa Harrell. (Photo: Ignacio Acevedo)After robbing Harrell of his life, the Beat Up Squad told medics that Samuel died of an overdose. However, this proved to be untrue when the Orange County medical examiner found that there were no illegal drugs in his system, conclusively ruling his death a homicide. Despite this autopsy report and 19 affidavits and letters from prisoners who witnessed the deadly beating, District Attorney William Grady – who is responsible for prosecuting this murder – has let four months go by without pressing homicide charges. Meanwhile, The Beat Up Squad is reportedly still on duty, attacking inmates, throwing them in solitary and threatening prisoners to “forget what you saw here if you ever want to make it home.”
Justice for Samuel Harrell
As a result of this extrajudicial killing going unpunished, Harrell’s family and friends, including Diane and Cerissa, joined the Hudson Valley Black Lives Matter Coalition – made up of individuals from the organizations Nobody Leaves Mid-Hudson, Community Voices Heard and Citizen Action – to demand justice last week. On Thursday August 27, members of the coalition and family descended on Dutchess County District Attorney William Grady’s office demanding that Grady immediately file homicide charges on the corrections officers who murdered Samuel Harrell.
The group blockaded the District Attorney’s door, expecting the five individuals carrying out acts of civil disobedience to be arrested.
Blockading the DA. (Photo: Rez Ones)
However, despite blocking the entrance to the building, a four-way intersection, and finally a three-lane highway for a total of two hours, no arrests were made. It was later confirmed by the group’s police liaison, Blair Goodman, that Grady explicitly instructed officers not to detain anyone. Perhaps arresting them, while letting the Beat Up Squad continue business as usual, was too great of an irony to bear.
Shutting Down an Intersection. (Photo: Rez Ones)
Shutting Down the Highway. (Photo: Rez Ones)
The Larger Problem
The Beat Up Squad is not the only gang of abusive corrections officers: Violence by officers in prison is systemic. When incarcerated, one’s chances of committing suicide, being sexually assaulted and being physically assaulted
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