The Bobster
Senior News Editor since 2004
52
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...9-2004Mar5.html
D.C. Jail Inmates Threaten Life Of Ballou Student, Mother Says
By Henri E. Cauvin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, March 6, 2004; Page B04
The 18-year-old Ballou Senior High School student charged with killing a schoolmate has been threatened by other inmates at the D.C. jail and he fears he will be killed there, his mother said this week.
Despite his status as a high-risk inmate meriting extra protection, Thomas J. Boykin has been confronted by prisoners who have threatened to kill him, h
s mother, Pearl Boykin, said in a telephone interview.
"When he called, he was crying," she said. "He was like, 'Ma, I'm not going to make it out.' "
In the m
ost
recent incident, at least two dozen inmates surrounded the recreation cage during Boykin's
hour of solitary exercise and told him they were going to kill him, his mother said.
"He was scared for his life," his mother said.
The D.C. Department of Corrections does not comment on security measures for individual inmates. In recent days, however, Boykin's attorney, Gladys Joseph of the D.C. Public Defender Service, and prosecutors have conveyed their concern for Boykin's safety to jail officials, the U.S. attorney's office said.
Channing Phillips, spokesman for the U.S. attorney, said the Department of Corrections has assured prosecutors that the jail warden will take appropriate precautions.
Ordinarily, that would entail a shift into protective c
ustody for Boykin, but that term describes a range of precautionary or punitive security measures. Exactly what has been done to protect Boykin is unclear.
Boykin, charged with second-degree
mur
der, is acc
used of shooting James Richardson, 17, on Feb. 2 during a melee that erupted outside the cafeteria of the Southeast Was
hington school.
A long-running rivalry between the two D.C. communities -- the Barry Farm Dwellings area and the Condon Terrace area -- was at the root of the brawl. At the preliminary hearing for Boykin two weeks ago, the tensions were apparent. Now, Boykin's family fears those tensions have found their way into the jail, fueled by the publicity of the case.
"They're going to kill me in here," his mother said he told her.
At the end of the preliminary hearing, when the judge ordered Boykin held without bond, his mother sobbed, fearful that her son would not be able to handle himself in jail.
Unlike many teenagers charged with mur
der in the District, Boykin never had been arrested before, his attorney said in court. And his mother is worried that because he has a slight build, he could be an easy mark in the environs
of the
D.C. Jail.
"He's just so scared," his mother said. "He said they can't protect him in there."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...9-2004Mar5.html
D.C. Jail Inmates Threaten Life Of Ballou Student, Mother Says
By Henri E. Cauvin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, March 6, 2004; Page B04
The 18-year-old Ballou Senior High School student charged with killing a schoolmate has been threatened by other inmates at the D.C. jail and he fears he will be killed there, his mother said this week.
Despite his status as a high-risk inmate meriting extra protection, Thomas J. Boykin has been confronted by prisoners who have threatened to kill him, h
s mother, Pearl Boykin, said in a telephone interview.
"When he called, he was crying," she said. "He was like, 'Ma, I'm not going to make it out.' "
In the m
ost
recent incident, at least two dozen inmates surrounded the recreation cage during Boykin's
hour of solitary exercise and told him they were going to kill him, his mother said.
"He was scared for his life," his mother said.
The D.C. Department of Corrections does not comment on security measures for individual inmates. In recent days, however, Boykin's attorney, Gladys Joseph of the D.C. Public Defender Service, and prosecutors have conveyed their concern for Boykin's safety to jail officials, the U.S. attorney's office said.
Channing Phillips, spokesman for the U.S. attorney, said the Department of Corrections has assured prosecutors that the jail warden will take appropriate precautions.
Ordinarily, that would entail a shift into protective c
ustody for Boykin, but that term describes a range of precautionary or punitive security measures. Exactly what has been done to protect Boykin is unclear.
Boykin, charged with second-degree
mur
der, is acc
used of shooting James Richardson, 17, on Feb. 2 during a melee that erupted outside the cafeteria of the Southeast Was
hington school.
A long-running rivalry between the two D.C. communities -- the Barry Farm Dwellings area and the Condon Terrace area -- was at the root of the brawl. At the preliminary hearing for Boykin two weeks ago, the tensions were apparent. Now, Boykin's family fears those tensions have found their way into the jail, fueled by the publicity of the case.
"They're going to kill me in here," his mother said he told her.
At the end of the preliminary hearing, when the judge ordered Boykin held without bond, his mother sobbed, fearful that her son would not be able to handle himself in jail.
Unlike many teenagers charged with mur
der in the District, Boykin never had been arrested before, his attorney said in court. And his mother is worried that because he has a slight build, he could be an easy mark in the environs
of the
D.C. Jail.
"He's just so scared," his mother said. "He said they can't protect him in there."