Three correctional officers from Miami-Dade pleaded guilty to the vicious, fatal beating of an inmate in 2022 and were given a 20-year prison sentence.
Three of the four cops arrested concerning the death of 60-year-old Ronald Ingram,—who was discovered dead with more than 20 broken ribs and internal bleeding—were Christopher Rolon, Kirk Walton, and Jeremy Godbolt.
The police were angered when Ingram threw urine at them, according to the prosecution.
“I didn’t commit murder. In an attempt to persuade a judge not to sentence him to 20 years in prison and to revoke his plea agreement, Walton from the inmate gallery declared, “I’m not guilty of murder.”
A fourth correctional guard in South Florida was taken into custody after he was alleged to have killed an inmate by beating him.
Earlier this year, Walton, Godbolt, and Rolon agreed to the terms of the agreement in exchange for testifying against Ronald Connor, a fourth officer.
Jurors judged Connor guilty merely of negligence and cleared him of murder after considering all the evidence, including the testimony of Walton, Godbolt, and Rolon. Connor has his freedom.
Walton and Rolon now wanted to revoke their plea agreements.
“You would like to immediately file a motion to withdraw your plea?” requested Rolon from Judge Teresa Pooler.
As he unexpectedly gave the judge a motion, Rolon replied, “Yes.”
Judge Pooler rejected their motions in spite of their wishes.
“Every chance in the world was yours. Now that one of your codefendants has been tried and convicted of a lesser crime, you might be thinking twice. I have no problem with that,” Judge Pooler stated.
Given that Godbolt was given credit for his time spent in prison, his family was devastated to learn that their loved one would not be returning home for almost eighteen years.
Quinsette Godbolt, Godbolt’s mother, stated, “I knew my son would never do anything to purposefully hurt someone or take someone’s life.”
Judge Pooler also said the crime was terrible and awful. She also stated that she would have given them all life sentences in jail if it weren’t for the agreements and the jury’s acquittal.
Judge Pooler remarked, “That man died in the worst way possible, chained up in a prison vehicle, alone and in pain.”