Former Deputy Sheriff in Madison County, Alabama, Charged with Civil Rights Violations and Obstruction of Justice

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2015-08-05

The Justice Department announced that Justin Watson, 29, a former deputy with the Madison County Sheriff’s Office, turned himself in Tuesday following an indictment on July 30, 2015, when he was charged with deprivation of rights under color of law for allegedly assaulting and injuring R.B. on Aug. 22, 2012. The indictment charges Watson with a second civil rights violation for allegedly conducting an unlawful traffic stop of R.B.

Watson also has been charged with three counts of obstruction of justice. The indictment alleges that Watson obstructed justice by providing false and misleading testimony in a criminal proceeding in state court and by corruptly persuading two witnesses.

Watson faces a maximum sentence of eleven years in prison for the two civil rights charges and sixty years in prison for the three obstruction counts.

An indictment is merely an allegation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice

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