Georgia Inmates Sentences Cut for Helping Save Their Guard’s Life

For playing unlikely ‘heros’ and helping save a life, six prisoners in Georgia will be deservedly rewarded for their good deeds. The inmates came to the rescue of a prison guard who collapsed with a heart attack, and thanks to their exemplary act, their sentences had been cut by a quarter.

The six inmates were working outdoors in Polk county, Georgia, when the prison guard collapsed. The incident could have given the prisoners an opportunity to grab the guard’s gun or escape. Instead, they opted to help their guard.

They also had presence of mind. One inmate used the guard’s phone to call 911 for help. The others also came to assist by removing the guard’s bullet proof vest to cool him off.

One of the inmates, Greg Williams narrated that the guard collapsed and initially stopped breathing. Williams said that when the guard started breathing again, it was just real heavy and real fast. Williams also admiringly said: ”When that happened, in my opinion, it wasn’t about who is in jail and who wasn’t. It was about a man going down and we had to help him.”

The inmates are highly familiar with the guard as he supervised them as they worked outside seven hours a day, five days a week. The day of the heart attack happened to be a warm one, with temperatures of 24 degrees C, with very high humidity.

The unnamed guard said that he started having coughing spells at that time, and each time he got those, he’d get hotter. He thought what was happening was just one of those hyperventilating spells. He said: “So at that point, I was just trying to breath. I really wasn’t thinking much, but just trying to get everything under control.”

The guard had nothing but praises for the inmates for coming to his aid in his time of need. He also finds it admirable that “none of my guys ran. None of them did anything they shouldn’t have done.”

What makes the incident even more special is the fact that it came only a week after two inmates at another prison gruesomely murdered their guard before escaping, going on the run before they were caught again. The spokesman for the sheriff’s office in Polk county drew comparisons with the two incidents.

The spokesman said: “As we watched the horrific manhunt this week of the two inmates that killed two correctional officers and were captured last night, we all know that Monday could have ended differently for our office. We are very proud of the actions of all six inmates involved.”

As a nice treat, aside from the major reward of cutting short their prison term, the inmates given an outdoor lunch consisting of pizza, Coca Cola and desserts prepared by the officer’s family.

Polk County Sheriff Johnny Moats praised the inmates, and gave accolades to his officers also for treating the prisoners “like family.”

Source:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/sentences-cut-georgia-prisoners-helped-220524407.html