Man Sentenced to Life for Killing Sex Offender Cellmate
A judge in Florida this week sentenced a 44-year-old man to spend the remainder of his life behind bars for the brutal murder of his former prison cellmate—a convicted child sex offender—whose throat he crushed.
“Inmate Carruthers strangled Inmate Kever and forcefully stomped his throat area that led to his death,” arresting documents reportedly stated. “Inmate Carruthers showed no regard for human life while committing murder.”
Kever was transported to the facility’s medical unit where doctors pronounced him dead. A subsequent autopsy reportedly determined that the death was a homicide caused by “manual strangulation/traumatic injuries of head/neck.”
Kever in 1996 was convicted on four counts of lewd and lascivious indecent assault on a child under 16, sexual battery, and attempted sexual battery. At the time of his death he was serving a sentence of eight years and nine months after being found guilty of failing to register as a sex offender in compliance with the state regulations, according to Florida Department of Corrections records
Now the family needs to sue FDOC’s eyeballs out.
not just FDOC, FDLE as well. It is a collateral consequence of their enabling this human and civil rights violating registry that this man is dead. And for what? Some technical “probation” like issue?
GL
Do not forget, some “Minor” non punitive registry violations like forgetting to register an email address can get you more time than some got for an actual sex offense.
So how does a “NON Punitive” registry get you time in prison? Makes no sense. That at most should be a civil penalty like more time added to your lifetime on the registry. So if you go to Heaven when you die you have to continue registering by leaving heaven every 90 days and come back to earth to re-register.
If you go to Hell, you no longer have to register so there is that.
The registry is a life sentence on the installment plan.
Ed C
However most installment plans you can eventually re-negotiate the terms of the contract or complete the terms to end it. The registry contract states the terms are non negotiable and for some ,like me, are for life or 1000 years, whichever comes first.
In Florida, registration failures are a good way to die, folks.
This is true. While I was serving a 1 yr sentence for failure to register (change my address on my DL) in the Blackwater River (GEO) correction facility, located in Milton, FL. I was threatened several times and assaulted 1 time. While it took some time for a few inmates to find out what I was actually in prison for, if it was not for cell phones in the possession of several inmates, they would have never known. Just another reason why the registry should be only for law enforcement use only.
Inmates are not in prison for singing to loud in the choir during Sunday service. Cellphones and other contraband seem like it will never end. Authorities might be able to slow it down but it seems they will never be able to completely stop the flow of contraband into prison systems.
TIM
A large percentage of contraband smuggled in is done by the guards. There was recently a news story on a Florida prison where 3 guards were arrested for selling drugs to inmates. An some were being paid up to $5000 each to allow family members to bring in cell phones for inmates.
That is more money than many of them make in 3 months time
Jacob
But remember, according to those wonderful and loving judges, “The registry is NOT punishment”. The take away, the registry causes us NO harm folks. The story above proves that. Um wait, that doesn’t make any sense at all now does it.
Cue the music and the marching band. Something smells fishy with Webster’s Dictionary because punishment is :
Definition of punishment
1: the act of punishing
2a: suffering, pain, or loss that serves as retribution
b: a penalty inflicted on an offender through judicial procedure
3: severe, rough, or disastrous treatment
One could argue the man has himself to blame for not registering. However, not registering for the non punishment life sentence on the registry should not get you killed. And that goes for IN or OUT of prison.
Every family’s worst fear for loved ones on the registry. It places a target on their back. So sad to hear
So, according to the article, if you read the whole thing, both men were convicted of sexual crimes against children. I know the author wants us to believe that one prisoner killed the other prisoner over his charges of conviction, but they were both in prison for the same thing.
Headline includes “fellow child sex offender.” FAC left that part out.
Jacob
A guard once made me laugh. He said ” I do not know if I should put you in a cell with another pervert and you two would be having sex, or if I put a non pervert in with you and get your brains beat in. ”
For some reason at the time that made me laugh. He laughed too and actually for making him laugh he gave me a cell by myself. The reason I was being put in a cell was I was being transferred to another facility after getting into a fight.
(I actually got jumped by a group of guys and I got charged and they didn’t) I lost all 3 appeals as well and got all my gain time taken away. (See the games they play in and out of prison)
Ain’t that the truth anonymous, both had prior charges involving a minor, and now 1 of them is dead, while the other gets to rot in prison for life. What a world we live in today.
This is the last paragraph from this article.
“Every person’s life has value- even those who are incarcerated deserve to be safe and secure without the fear of violence,” State Attorney Madden said in a press release.
Then why is the registry available for public access and cell phones can be smuggle into prison systems?
Oh and if the inmates can’t get a cell phone smuggled in or buy one while they are in prison, they can still easily look you up by calling a friend or family member over the prison phone system because the registry is free and accessible to the public, especially via the internet. Making the registry only available to law enforcement will help stop all these vigilante cases, especially the ones I. Prison systems. I seen many people with SO charges get the crap beat out of them or assaulted and exploited many times and most where never reported to the prison system. If they was reported then the victim of assault would be facing even more assaults or death just for “Snitching”.
The registry is only way that those inmates who are concerned about others’ charges can find that information. These inmates are also the ones most likely to have outside connections, e.g. family, friends or prison staff, to peruse state and federal judicial databases. Face it, there is no anonymity in prison. I actually laughed when a prison captain told me why those in protective custody (PC) were treated just as harshly as those who were in solitary confinement for an infraction. If those in PC were treated differently, he said with a straight face, others would know they needed protection for some reason–SO, ex-cop, snitch, etc. Hell everyone, including guards, knows everything anyway.
Veritas.
ED C
Not true.
When I was in, there was no registry. Three ways they find out. They have their family obtain your records from court house if they want to out you bad enough. In my case, the guards blabbed it to everyone in my dorm.
Also if you had a high profile case, sometimes it is seen on the news either by the public or God forbid while you are sitting there and it pops up in front of all the wolves waiting to pounce on you.
Sorry Cherokee, in rewording my comment I left out the word “one.” The opening sentence should have read, “The registry is only one way that those inmates who are concerned about others’ charges can find that information.”
Veritas and apologies.
Ed C
No problem bud. I just know inmates were finding out others charges even before the internet. Prisons are like small cities with tiers of governments. The guards are in charge of everyone and then there are a few Alpha males (And females in women’s prisons) who control or try to control other inmates.
Drugs, sex, contraband etc is found in prisons. Not all prisons are San Quentin or Alcatraz but even in county jails I saw some of the inmates establishing their dominance over others.
I mean some of these guys out on the streets would kill their own Mother if they needed to, so what makes us think they wouldn’t think twice about killing another inmate?
And like I said, some of the guards are more than willing to break the rules. When I worked in the Kitchen there was a really cool older guard who would always sneak us extra food. The guy was a big teddy bear but he was way past retirement. I am sure during a riot he would be the first to hide, however even the worst of inmates would have been a fool to hurt him. He let us get away with way too much. (In a good way)
Cherokee, you made another point. While I was at Lake Butler doing reception, I did notice a few guards that outed an inmate for some type of SO to the inmates doing the reception. The inmates marked him by not giving him any food in his to-go Styrofoam box and then dared him to say something. Then when we got to the dorm where we was assigned to. The house gurus went around asking everyone what they had to eat for lunch. Like some kind of system they had to expose you. For whatever reason the guards didn’t expose me. However, I was in prison for failure to register. I’m not sure what the guy who was outed was in prison for but it was definitely some type of SO offense. As soon as the inmates found him they had him give up anything of value, radio, shoes, canteen etc. I can’t speak on how inmates was treated in PC or Solitary confinement as I was in shape enough to stand my ground and able to throw down with one guy who thought they was going to get over on me an never had to request PC but others was not so lucky. I will say that once that happened, it seemed like they lightened up on me but I would still get the occasional threat and glares. I had to live with my head on a swivel more so than I did in Iraq.
Another point someone mentioned. For my original charge I recieved 4 yrs probation with adjudication withheld. 13 yrs later I do a 1yr prison sentence for forgetting to change my address on my DL after I completed a inpatient PTSD program at the VA hospital. Which is completely ridiculous and backwards if you ask me. I only share certain things about my charges and situation, just to prove how ridiculous the registry is.
If Florida (and other states) didn’t have “failure to register” as giving someone prison time, both men would likely still be alive.
Neither man was a saint nor do I think that one killed another because of a sex offense. Of course, there are some who veer more towards the violent side and disdain those with a “sex offense,” even if no person or child were harmed. I’m not surprised that in our society, violence is preferred over nudity and sex.
I want to make this short but still get my point across. To those of us lucky enough to have a job while having to be on the registry. The Boss man knows, and chose to keep it to himself…I worry the day will come when the people I interact with will discover that I am on the registry …that day will be the begining of my losing everything I have gained after I was released from the penitentiary.
Also on that day I will be rejudged by those same people who trust me to do the right thing for them as part of my job…and this all because they are now full of discontent and, yes, hate towards me because of my past bad choice.. any closeness that has arisen because of business dealings will no longer be reviewed as a positive business relationship..The list is long of all the things that will change as soon as those I deal with forget what a good honest man they have been dealing with. Yes, I believe my Boss man will be forced to ” let me go “…to me that’s a form of death, all because people can find out if they wanted to…
Edward
About 5 years into my last job I saw everyone gathered in the bosses office. It had windows on 3 sides and I snuck over to a corner and peeked in the window. I freaked out when I saw the boss and every employee lurking over the bosses shoulders as he shared my registry page.
I knocked and when I came in, everyone scattered and the boss turned off the screen. I was 2nd in command and I said “You wanted to see me boss?”. I thought he was going to bring up the registry but instead he said ” I am going on vacation on Monday so you will be in charge.”
Being pissed that he called everyone into the office to see that, I knew things were going to become really bad for me. There was NO one else qualified to be the supervisor but I could not let what just happened stand.
Without mentioning that I saw what happened, I said to him “You will have to get someone else boss, I quit” and handed him my keys and went home. When corporate called me a month later to ask why I quit without notice ” By time I was finished telling her the Hell I had been through during those past years, she ended up having the company attorney call me.
My point never assume they don’t already know. I just had a neighbor I have known for 20 years mention that she has known about me all that time and never mentioned it and never treated me different. I forget why it came up but it did.
I have not worked since 2014. Got denied disability, got denied food stamps, got denied Everything. Pretty sure because I am on the registry according to the lawyer I hired. (Free unless you win) He said he has never had a client on the registry win but has heard other lawyers say they have. When I asked about it, he said it was not the lawyer that matter, it was the judge you get assigned to that decides if you sink or swim.
I’ve had some “friends” to dismiss me because of a sex charge (though none of them or theirs were affected). I’ve had others who found out or were told after having known me for a long time and they’ve still been supportive. In prison, another inmate even relented and said that “maybe not everyone with a sex offense is all bad.” Many in prison are even less learned than the general public so a “sex charge” = “worst scum, must be destroyed.”
In other words, people MAY surprise you in positive ways, after knowing you for awhile and then learning of your past.
Lack of employment makes me question my skills, my own role in life, if I’ll be relegated to some starter minimum wage job for the rest of my life.
Edward R…..
Just Wait Until A Compliance Check is made at one of your employers; or in my case a subcontractor….Talk About Embarrassment!!!
14 US Marshals in Combat Fatigues and all the Guns and Ammo; the Local POO-LEECE, and DOJ Officials….Talk about a waste of money!
-At least they entered the back of the building and only one person, so far has commented to me; she is a dear friend of mine; her response was, “DO NOT SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THIS, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO!”
Again, I will walk away from them as there is NO CODIFIED STATUTE WITH REGARDS TO COMPLIANCE CHECKS ON PERSONS WHO ARE NOT WARDS OF THE STATE OR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT….THEY CANNOT STOP YOU, AS THAT WOULD BE FALSE ARREST;
PLEASE EVERYONE STAND UP TO THESE BULLY TACTICS WITH REGARD TO COMPLIANCE CHECK…DO NOT TALK TO THEM..
WHERE IS THE CODIFIED STATUTE REQUIRING ‘YOU’ TO PRESENT YOUR ID DURING A COMPLIANCE CHECK???…THERE IS NONE…IT DOES NOT EXIST!
THANK YOU!
Truth
First off, legally if you are off probation, the compliance checks are supposed to be to verify your address. Showing up at your work, especially with 14 US Marshalls. Things like that seem to only happen when someone calls in a tip or you pissed off the wrong person.
This is plain and unequivocal proof of the punishment level law enforcement gets away with on a daily basis. Having worked in law enforcement myself in the distant past, I can say I saw incidents happen on a weekly basis that left me unable to sleep at night.
The more the judges allow registry Gestapo to get away with, the more creative ways they come up with to push us into being “Someone else’s problem”.
Hey I have to agree with Anne and Cherokee and several others. I was put in Lock-up when I first got involved in all this stupid type sex registry. They put me in a cell with two murders that were awaiting trial. One was 18 and the other was in his mid 40’s.. Here I am 66 years of age and one of the person’s in the cell said to one of the guards or trustee’s get that guy out of here before I Kill him.
I didn’t even know what was going on as murder can play on some in jail. Seems the sex registry seems worse and plays on others. Course I knew to keep my trap shut in jail but this was a regional jail and not the small time jail.
You all have to remember I’m in a commonwealth state of VA and it can get pretty tricky in they put you in with a mixture. Even a bull pen is not as bad awaiting trial or doing a weekend type ordeal when I was back in high school and a bit of college.
If you are in jail for a sex offense its best to keep your mouth shut and hope for the best. Crime and punishment are bad enough.