LAYING on a hospital bed with blood filling his eyes, Robert Hinton was barely recognisable.
He could’ve been forgiven for thinking things could only get better.
Hinton, 28, made headlines after he survived the beating from correctional officers. It was April of 2012 and guards at the notoriously-violent correctional centre inflicted punishment after the inmate refused to go to his cell without eating. They “hogtied” Hinton before laying into him.
He was being held in solitary confinement at the time that his wrists and ankles were cuffed and he was kicked and punched to within an inch of his life. Hinton suffered a fractured vertebra and internal bleeding. He couldn’t even open his eyes after the beating.
Three years later, just as his luck was turning around, his story took its final tragic turn.
Hinton was shot and killed on Thursday night in Brooklyn, a stone’s throw from the Rikers Island detention centre where the bruises and bumps were savagely inflicted in 2012.
The worst part: He was expecting a $450,000 ($AU627,000) compensation payout within days and he was expecting his first daughter in January.
Robert Hinton in April, 2012. Picture: APSource:AP
Six guards were fired last year over the beating incident. That was the first piece of good news to come Hinton’s way in quite some time. He was released two months earlier after serving time for a 2008 assault.
On September 14 this year, Hinton signed a settlement with those who wronged him. Almost half a million dollars was coming his way. But days before he received the cheque, full from thanksgiving dinner, Hinton was taking a walk when he was approached by a man with a gun and killed.
The New York Daily News reports Hinton was shot after dropping off his sister and nephews. His sister, Keviah Johnson, said Hinton tried to keep the family safe. In the end, he couldn’t keep himself safe.
“He was adventurous, loving, fun,” Ms Johnson said. “He was the protector of the family.”
It wasn’t clear exactly when Hinton would’ve received the payout and police don’t believe his death is in any way related.
Typically, it takes 90 days for a payout following settlement and that date was less than three weeks away.
Police are searching for Hinton’s shooter. They say a second man was shot in the leg and that the person responsible is still on the run.
Hinton was expecting his first child on January 20.
No comments:
Post a Comment