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Judge Meets Attorneys in Prison Riot Cases

Joe Gratz
/
creative commons

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) - A judge is meeting with attorneys after prosecutors dismissed all but three remaining cases against inmates charged in a deadly riot at Delaware's maximum-security prison.

Monday's scheduled office conference involves attorneys for inmates Roman Shankaras, Lawrence Michaels and Alejandro Rodriguez-Ortiz.

The meeting comes barely two weeks after prosecutors dismissed cases against six of the 18 inmates originally charged in the 2017 riot, during which a guard was killed and three other prison staffers taken hostage.

That decision came after earlier trials of seven inmates resulted in only one, who admitted planning the uprising knowing it could become violent, convicted of murder.

With little physical evidence, and no surveillance camera footage, prosecutors have relied heavily on testimony from other inmates, whose credibility has been successfully attacked by defense attorneys.

Don Rush is the News Director at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.