Assistant Attorney General, Lettricea Jefferson-Webb, was interviewed at length for the segment of “Video Justice,” which highlights the importance of videotape in the prosecution of particular cases. Jefferson-Webb prosecuted Sheldon Jones, age 44, a former nurse at Central State Hospital, who was sentenced to five years imprisonment for Wantonly Abusing an Adult by an Adult Caretaker.  Jones pled guilty to the charge in November, 2005 in Jefferson Circuit Court.

Jones abused a 48-year-old mentally retarded male resident while employed at Central State Hospital in Louisville. The Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Control Division began an investigation following a report of abuse by the staff at Central State Hospital following their own internal investigation.

The prosecution showed that on June 7, 2004, Sheldon Jones, a caretaker at the facility tried to suffocate the mentally retarded man, striking him on the head with his fist, and twisting the resident’s arms and legs into unnatural positions. The abuse continued for approximately 20 minutes.

“Video cameras in the victim’s room caught Jones in the act of abuse,” said Attorney General Stumbo. “The judge in the case reviewed the videotape evidence of the beating prior to the sentencing of Jones. This is surely a case of “video justice” as Court TV’s show is called. By spreading the word about our successful prosecution, we will deter such cowardly attacks in the future.”

“The video cameras allowed us to successfully prosecute this case, which otherwise would have been difficult to do,” explained prosecutor Jefferson-Webb. “The victim was non-verbal and could not communicate. The defendant very conveniently tried to explain away the resident’s injury as a result of an improper holding technique he used to control the patient. This explanation would likely have been accepted as fact had it not been for the cameras.”

The video used in the prosecution of the case will be shown during the airing of “Video Justice” on Court TV. As part of his plea, Jones is to never again work in the healthcare field or with vulnerable adults.