Paula Lehman-Ewing
paula@reimaginingtherevolution.com
Published 12:10 Central January 10, 2023

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Alabama — Three corrections officers have been placed under arrest for the brutal, unprovoked attack on multiple prisoners. Jefferson County sheriffs arrested the officers on January 2, 2023, four months after their initial indictment and nearly two years after the assault for which they are charged.

According to court documents, on January 30, 2021, Donaldson Correctional Facility guards Joe Binder, Cordaro Melton and Daryl Wayne Brown struck Kinetik and another prisoner, Ephan Moore, with batons. Footage taken by incarcerated witnesses in the aftermath of the attack show streaks of blood where Kinetik was dragged out of his cell. Officers continued their barrage of strikes until Kinetik was unconscious and had to be airlifted to UAB’s Trauma Unit with severe head injuries. Following the incident, the FBI began to investigate staff at Donaldson and in August 2022, the officers were indicted by a grand jury.

“I don’t think there’s anything that’s going to come out of this situation — whether it’s a financial settlement or them being sent to prison — I don’t think any of that would alleviate what I feel based on what I experienced at the hands of these officers,” said Kinetik.

Kinetik’s work with the Free Alabama Movement has made him a target of ongoing violence and harassment by the Alabama prison department. In September 2016, he organized incarcerated men at several Alabama facilities to participate in a nationwide work stoppage by prisoners to protest prison labor and modern-day slavery. When conditions worsened in October, he began a hunger strike. His peaceful protests were met with an attack by officers in December when he was maced and beaten while in handcuffs.

After the 2016 incident and related protests, the federal government began investigating the Alabama Department of Corrections and filed a lawsuit in 2020 alleging the department “fails to provide safe and sanitary conditions, and subjects prisoners to excessive force at the hands of prison staff.” A month after the lawsuit was filed, Kinetik was attacked at Donaldson.

Despite this ongoing trauma, Kinetik continues to provide strength and resources to incarcerated men and women throughout Alabama and the nation.

“Every time they do something to me, it builds up my resolve to do more,” Kinetik said. “If you have real value for your life and real value for your freedom, there’s nothing that’s going to stop you from fighting to be free.”

If convicted, the charged officers will be sent to Limestone Correctional Facility, the only Alabama prison with a protective custody unit, a de facto requirement for any former law enforcement member who is sent to prison. Limestone is also where Kinetik is currently incarcerated.