CHARLESTON, W.Va. — U.S. District Judge Joseph Goodwin sentenced two former Southern Regional Jail corrections officers that had part in the brutal beating death of inmate Quantez Burks.
Mark Holdren, 41, of Beckley, was sentenced to 20 years in prison and Jonathan Walters, 33, of Rainelle, was sentenced to 21 years. Each pleaded guilty to conspiring with other officers to violate the inmate’s civil rights, resulting in death. Both sentences will be followed by three years of supervised release.
The pair were two of the seven former correctional officers to be indicted after the incident.
Burks, who was 37 years old, had only been in the jail for 24 hours when the attack happened.
Holdren responded to a call for officer assistance when Burks supposedly tried to push past another officer and leave his pod. This resulted in Burks being struck multiple times by Holdren while restrained, including multiple unnecessary knee strikes.
Burks was then taken into an interview room within the jail with no surveillance video. There, multiple correctional officers, including Holdren and Walters struck Burks while he was restrained and handcuffs. A release from the U.S. Department of Justice says Burks was stuck in the head multiple times, kicked, pepper-sprayed, and more.
While officers transported Burks to another pod, Walters used unreasonable force to strike Burks’ head into a metal door to open it. During this time, Burks was being carried by his arms and legs by officers.
Two more former correctional officers involved in the attack, Corey Snyder and Jacob Boothe, pleaded guilty in August 2024, to failing to intervene to protect Burks from the officers’ assault. They will be sentenced tomorrow by Judge Goodwin.
In addition to the seven correctional officers, a federal jury found Chad Lester, a former lieutenant at the jail, guilty on three obstruction of justice charges for his role in conspiring to cover up Burks’ death. Lester was sentenced to 17 years and six months in prison in May.