Inmate Sues Prison Officer Over Alleged Setup Attack

Donnie Heywood has filed a civil lawsuit against three officials at the John A. Bell Adult Correctional Facility in Golden Grove, alleging that correctional officer Tyiesha Benjamin-Samuel orchestrated an assault against him in November 2025.

According to the complaint, Benjamin-Samuel instructed Heywood to enter a recreation yard and then allowed three inmates from another unit to join him, despite knowing they intended to attack him. The three men beat Heywood with objects, causing serious injuries, the lawsuit states.

Heywood's complaint emphasizes that corrections staff were aware he had suffered a previous traumatic brain injury, making him vulnerable to severe harm or death from head trauma. The lawsuit contends that Benjamin-Samuel facilitated the attack despite this knowledge.

The defendants named in the case are Benjamin-Samuel, then-Assistant Warden Omar Samuel (identified as Benjamin-Samuel's husband), and V.I. Bureau of Corrections Director Wynnie Testamark.

The complaint alleges a pattern of misconduct by Benjamin-Samuel toward Heywood and other prisoners. It also describes an incident in which Omar Samuel rejected a complaint from Heywood's mother about the assault, stating he would not accept it because Benjamin-Samuel was his wife.

Heywood's attorney, Lee Rohn, is seeking both compensatory and punitive damages. The lawsuit holds Testamark responsible for failing to properly oversee hiring, training and retention of correctional personnel, and for retaining Benjamin-Samuel despite her alleged unfitness for the role.

The Bureau of Corrections received notice of the alleged assault in early December 2025 and was asked to investigate and preserve evidence, including video recordings. By February 2026, the complaint states, the Bureau had not finished its investigation, had not supplied video footage to Heywood, and had not suspended Benjamin-Samuel pending the outcome.

The lawsuit includes negligence claims against the Bureau of Corrections, an assault-by-facilitation claim against Benjamin-Samuel, and negligent supervision and obstruction claims against Testamark and Samuel. All three individual defendants face allegations of violating Heywood's constitutional rights under the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments. No response had been filed by the defendants as of the report date.