Three state prison guards brutalized a 65-year-old handcuffed inmate at a western Illinois lockup four years ago, leading to the man's death and prompting the officers to attempt a coverup, a prosecutor said Monday at two of the guards' federal trial.
But defense attorneys for Department of Corrections Lt. Todd Sheffler and Officer Alex Banta argued during opening statements that their clients weren't where others claim they were at the time of the May 17, 2018, beating of Larry Earvin, and that the testimony of dozens of witnesses will prove “illusory, contradictory and ambiguous.”
