“I had a brain bleed. I was in a coma. I had a broken jaw, broken nose, crushed eye socket, crushed sinuses, collapsed lungs. They had to intubate me twice. I mean, his intent was to kill me.”
The Dept of Justice’s investigation of Trousdale Turner is now prompting some former staff to tell their stories, including a female guard so badly beaten by an inmate in 2020 that she’s never been able to work again.
“I was in a coma for eight days,” she told the Banner.
The former guard, whose identity we have protected, is just now talking about what happened to her. She was among the first wave of new guards at the prison when it opened in 2016. She’s undergone at least four surgeries and is worried about millions in medical bills, her declining credit and ultimately losing her home.
Update: After publication, District Attorney Jason Lawson from the 15th District told the Banner that Robert King Vaughn Jr. was quietly prosecuted for attacking the other woman in this case. He was sentenced to 60 years for aggravated rape and 60 years for attempted first-degree murder, to be served consecutively for a total sentence of 120 years.