One witness refused to testify, and another came down with memory loss Tuesday in the trial of three former correctional officers charged with the beating death of Raymond Smoot at the Baltimore Central Booking and Intake Center in 2005.
Former correctional officer Keyona Hough, who was called by prosecutors to testify against the three accused men, refused to do so in Baltimore City Circuit Court on Tuesday, exercising her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
Another former correctional officer, Kene Jones, who 16 months ago gave statements to investigators implicating the three defendants, changed her story when testifying earlier that morning.
Jones repeatedly told prosecutors she could no longer recall the events of May 14, 2005, when multiple officers allegedly beat to death Raymond Smoot, 51, of Baltimore, at the Baltimore jail, despite the fact that she stood outside the cell watching the altercation.
“I can?t sit up here and tell you honestly that I remember what happened on that day,” Jones told
prosecutor Mark Cohen, who tried to elicit the testimony he needed from Jones for nearly two hours.
In the days after the beating, Jones told investigators about the chaotic scene she witnessed at Central Booking the night Smoot
died in taped and written statements.
Jones told investigators Smoot punched a guard, causing a near riot, in which 39 inmates shouted they would take over the
jail. She said she watched correctional officers, including Dameon Woods, Nathan Colbert and James Hatcher ? the three men charged in Smoot?s death ? as they physically assaulted Smoot.
But Jones said in court Tuesday she now believes she lied when she gave statements to investigators, and she was pressured by investigators to single out certain guards for blame.
“I can?t be sure that I saw Mr. Woods stomp Mr. Smoot,” she said.
All three accused men said they are innocent and that other officers beat Smootto death.
“I?m surprised more of these correctional officers haven?t taken the Fifth Amendment given the evidence in this case,” Hatcher?s attorney, Andrew Alperstein, told The Examiner.
