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Former Lt. Shronda Covington, 49, and Registered Nurse Tonya Farley, 53, both of Chesterfield, were on duty at the Federal Correctional Institution in Petersburg on Jan. 9, 2021, when a 47-year-old inmate - only identified as W.W. - began showing clear signs of a neurological emergency.
Instead of getting help, Covington and Farley ignored W.W.’s worsening condition — including incontinence, inability to talk, and frequent falls — leaving him to suffer blunt force trauma from repeated collisions with walls and other objects, according to the Department of Justice.
“Their appalling indifference and disregard cost W.W. his life,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said.
After multiple falls and cries for help from other inmates, W.W. hit his head on a wall in an observation cell and collapsed to the floor. For more than an hour, Covington and Farley still failed to intervene, leaving him to die from his injuries.
"Although FBOP policy requires staff to provide necessary medical care to inmates, Covington and Anderson ignored the policy and their training and failed to respond to repeated calls for help from inmates and line staff," prosecutors noted.
Both were convicted on Dec. 21.
Covington was found guilty of violating W.W.’s civil rights and faces up to 15 years in prison. Both she and Farley were also convicted of lying to federal investigators, a charge carrying a maximum five-year sentence.
A third employee, Lieutenant Michael Anderson, previously pleaded guilty to charges related to the case and is already serving a three-year prison sentence.
“Federal inmates are human beings in a uniquely vulnerable environment,” US Attorney Jessica Aber stated. “Their care is the responsibility of corrections staff entrusted to uphold the highest standards of professional conduct.
"The failure to honor that trust in this case cost a man his life.”
Covington and Farley are set to be sentenced in May 2025.
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