Louisiana Officials ‘Assaulted’ 5 Inmates

Two sheriff’s officials in Louisiana were indicted on federal charges related to the assaults of five inmates, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement late Wednesday. The two are accused of conspiring with each other and other officers to assault the inmates in April 2011 in a jail chapel, where officials knew there were no surveillance cameras, the indictment alleges. Iberia Parish Sheriff Louis Ackal and Lt. Col. Gerald Savoy are facing federal charges of conspiracy against human rights and deprivation of rights under color of law. Eight other former Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office employees have entered guilty pleas in related cases, the Justice Department said.