Ex-St. Louis jail guard gets prison for inmate’s beating

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A former St. Louis jail guard has been sentenced to four years in federal prison for allowing two detainees to beat another inmate in his cell. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that 39-year-old Demeria Thomas was sentenced Tuesday after she pleaded guilty in February to depriving an inmate of his civil rights while she worked at the St. Louis Justice Center. As part of the plea, Thomas admitted that in March 2021, she unlocked the inmate’s cell and allowed two men to punch and kick him. She also kept other inmates from intervening. The attack left the inmate with a broken jaw, which went untreated for three days.