Ex-Mississippi prison guard pleads guilty to federal charge in 2019 inmate beating

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Federal prosecutors says a former Mississippi prison guard has pleaded guilty in the 2019 beating of an inmate. Justice Department officials said Jessica Hill pleaded guilty Thursday to using excessive force when she was a corrections officer at the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility. The indictment said Hill beat an inmate with a pepper spray canister and repeatedly punched the inmate in the head. The inmate was not resisting and was on the ground in the fetal position while being beaten and kicked by Hill and another officer. Authorities say Hill faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Her sentencing is set for Oct. 25.