BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
LONDON — A former lieutenant at the United States Penitentiary Big Sandy in Martin County was sentenced Tuesday to 17 months in federal prison for falsifying records to cover up the beating of an inmate who had pleaded for protective custody. This is the final sentencing in a yearslong federal civil rights scandal that exposed staff violence, fabricated reports and a broader pattern of abuse inside the high-security prison.
Michael Childers, 47, of Harold, was sentenced April 8 by U.S. District Judge Robert Wier after pleading guilty Dec. 1, 2025, to falsification of records in a federal investigation.
Federal prosecutors said Childers knowingly wrote a false incident report after prison staff assaulted an inmate inside the lieutenant’s office at USP Big Sandy April 13, 2021. He admitted he falsely claimed the inmate had headbutted and punched him, though he knew those allegations were untrue, in an effort to obstruct the federal investigation into the beating.
The sentence makes Childers the final defendant to be sentenced in one of the most disturbing cases to emerge from a federal probe into abuse and cover-ups at the Debord prison.
Childers’ plea agreement, first reported by The Mountain Citizen in December, described a violent scene inside the prison lieutenant’s office.
According to court records, an inmate identified as J.B. had requested protective custody and was brought into the office, where Childers was present with Lt. Terry Melvin, Lt. Kevin Pearce, Case Management Coordinator Samuel Patrick and Captain’s Secretary Clinton Pauley. The inmate pleaded for protection. Instead, Childers admitted, staff members assaulted him “without justification.”
In that plea, Childers admitted Melvin became enraged and referenced the inmate’s criminal history, saying that if the inmate had done to Childers’ family what he had been convicted of, “J.B. would not be standing there.” Melvin then asked the inmate, “Have you met Lieutenant Childers?”
At that point, according to Childers’ own admissions, Childers punched the inmate in the face and tackled him to the ground. Others piled on, repeatedly striking him. Childers admitted the inmate was not resisting and that there was no lawful reason to use force.
Earlier federal filings in the related case against Melvin said the inmate suffered facial lacerations, bruising, rib injuries and a concussion that required hospitalization. Court records also alleged staff posed the inmate for photographs afterward, mocked his injuries and then moved to create a false justification for the beating.
That cover-up became the basis for Childers’ conviction.
After the inmate was beaten, Childers admitted Melvin asked, “Who did [J.B.] headbutt?” Childers knew the inmate had not headbutted anyone, according to the plea agreement, but raised his hand anyway, understanding the question as part of an effort to fabricate a legal pretext for the use of force. Childers then wrote an incident report falsely claiming the inmate headbutted him, punched him, caused him to bleed and left him dizzy. He later admitted those statements were false and were intended to impede or influence the federal investigation.
The April 2021 assault was not an isolated incident.
In separate court filings, former lieutenant Terry Melvin described what prosecutors said was a broader conspiracy of unconstitutional violence inside USP Big Sandy. Melvin admitted that between early 2021 and March 2022, prison officials repeatedly assaulted inmates who sought protective custody, then filed false reports to justify the force.
At the center of that scheme, Melvin said, was an “unofficial policy” devised by senior prison leadership: inmates who asked for protective custody could either withdraw the request or face a false allegation that they had assaulted staff.
Melvin also admitted that what officers called “staff assault day” occurred weekly. According to his plea, staff would strike compliant inmates while yelling “stop resisting” to create the appearance of lawful force. Members of the prison’s Special Investigations Section, who should have investigated staff misconduct, were instead accused in court filings of destroying evidence or intimidating witnesses. Some officers, Melvin said, were rewarded with bonuses and promotions while the abuse continued.
Several prison officials were sentenced before Childers.
Melvin pleaded guilty to conspiracy against rights and violating an individual’s rights under color of law and was sentenced in April 2026 to 48 months in prison.
Patrick and Pauley pleaded guilty in 2023 for their roles in assaults on inmates and were sentenced in November 2023 to 36 months and 40 months, respectively.
Pearce was convicted of writing false reports to cover up inmate assaults and was sentenced to 66 months.
In a separate but related case, former lieutenant Ryan Elliott pleaded guilty to assaulting one inmate and writing a false report about the assault of a second inmate in an unrelated incident. He was sentenced in March 2024 to 12 months and one day.
Federal officials said the sentence reflects the seriousness of the misconduct and the civil rights violations involved.
“Today’s sentence underscores the serious nature of this misconduct and the violation of civil rights it involved,” Federal Bureau of Prisons Director William K. Marshall III said in a statement.
Under federal law, Childers must serve 85% of his sentence. After his release, he will remain under supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for one year.