ATLANTA — A former Newton County jail inmate has won a judgment against a former Sheriff's Office jailer in a federal lawsuit following an attack in his cell that left the inmate badly injured in 2019.

Sean Hall won a $638,250 civil judgment against former Newton County jailer Shermaine Carlisle in U.S. District Court Nov. 9, said Hall's attorney, Mark Begnaud.

Hall filed the civil lawsuit against Carlisle after an investigation found that Carlisle “conspired” in an attack by three inmates on Hall and it was caught on video, Begnaud said.

“Mr. Carlisle was charged with securing and protecting our client, and he did the exact opposite – he conspired with other inmates to brutally attack Mr. Hall," Begnaud said.

The Covington resident was being held on charges of Possession of Methamphetamine and Giving False Name, Address or Birthdate to Law Enforcement Officers in the Newton County Jail at the time of the incident. 

"On June 13, 2019, two inmates at the Newton County jail entered Plaintiff’s jail cell and attacked him while a third inmate held the cell door closed to prevent Plaintiff’s escape. The inmates beat Plaintiff savagely, leaving him lying unconscious on the concrete floor," the ruling stated. 

"While the attack initially appeared to be a simple inmate-on-inmate incident, the ensuing investigation revealed that Defendant, an employee of the Newton County Sheriff’s Office who was working at the jail, knowingly allowed the inmates access to Plaintiff’s cell for the express purpose of attacking him."

U.S. District Judge William Ray III of the Northern District of Georgia heard the case on June 15 and Ray issued his ruling on Nov. 9.

The award against Carlisle included $150,000 in compensatory damages, $450,000 in punitive damages and $38,250 in attorney's fees. 

“We are pleased with Judge Ray’s award,” Begnaud said. 

He said Hall is still an inmate in a state prison.

“A worry in an inmate case is that the damages award will be discounted because the client is in custody – we see people who do not want to award that much money to an inmate," Begnaud said. 

"Obviously, that did not happen here. We asked for $150,000 in compensatory damages and that was what Judge Ray awarded. We believe that this award is an indication of the new times we are living in — where the fact that a person is in custody does not mean that we value his or her life or injuries any less. 

"We also hope that this is a warning to any corrections facilities in Georgia that misconduct can come with staggering consequences,” Begnaud said.

Carlisle said in a response letter filed in February of this year he denied any part in the planning of the attack and blamed Hall for a door being left open to allow other inmates to enter.

Begnaud said his firm filed the civil lawsuit on Hall’s behalf in August 2020 after Carlisle was fired and criminal charges filed against him were dismissed. 

The Newton County District Attorney's office declined to prosecute after the Sheriff’s Office did not cooperate in the case, Begnaud said.

District Attorney Randy McGinley confirmed the criminal warrant against Carlisle was dismissed in August 2020.

His office filed a motion to dismiss in Magistrate Court "due to insufficient investigation including failure to provide the District Attorney’s office several recorded witness interviews, failure to identify all the inmates on video committing and assisting with the underlying crime, failing to provide requested inmate records from the jail, and failing to write any disciplinary reports by the Newton County Jail staff regarding the incident,” the motion stated. 

"In light of the quality of the investigation by the Sheriff's Office staff the District Attorney's office cannot prove these charges beyond a reasonable doubt and will not proceed with this case."

Criminal charges must be proven "beyond a reasonable doubt" while civil charges have a lower burden of proof.

However, the criminal charges could still be presented to a grand jury within the statute of limitations because the case was dismissed without prejudice.

A spokesperson for the Newton County Sheriff's Office said the agency "separated itself from Detention Officer Shermaine Carlisle because he did not follow policies and procedures." 

"We will not make further comment at this time."