Rikers Island Correction Officers Sentenced In Beating Death Of Inmate
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Two Rikers Island correction officers have been sentencing after pleading guilty in October to assault charges.
Prosecutors said Michael McKie, 33, and Khalid Nelson, 37, ran what became known at Rikers as "the Program" in which inmates were directed to assault other prisoners to keep order in the cell blocks.
1010 WINS' Juliet Papa reports
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McKie has been sentenced to two years in prison. Nelson was sentenced to one year.
An investigation into "the Program" followed the beating death of 18-year-old Christopher Robinson in October 2008.
WCBS 880's Irene Cornell On The Case
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"At the end of the day these people are still able to see their families but my only child is a sight I'll never see again," Charnel Robinson, the victim's mother, said.
Attorney Sanford Rubenstein said the Justice Department needs to review the prison system.
"From this tragedy and other tragedies the prisons are not safe for inmates," he said.
Five inmates have pleaded guilty in connection with the investigation and charges are pending against seven others and a third correction officer.
