Video shows N.J. jail inmate viciously beaten with microwave, repeatedly stomped in attack by 7 men – NJ.com

A more than two minute surveillance video that shows a 22-year-old inmate at the Essex County jail being brutally beaten with a microwave oven, a broom stick and doused with bleach earlier this fall surfaced on social media Sunday as the man continues to recover from a coma.

“I was speechless,” Brooke Barnett, a Newark-based attorney who represents Jayshawn Boyd and saw the video for the first time on Sunday told NJ Advance Media by phone Monday.

“It’s disgusting. I don’t care if it’s a jail or not, it’s somebody’s son in there, somebody’s brother,” Barnett said. “Bottom line when (inmates) go in there, they go into this closed environment. I’m not saying they’re going to be at the Hilton hotel but they’re entitled to humane conditions – their loved ones entitled to know they are being protected and watched over.”

Barnett has filed a notice of intent to sue Essex County on behalf of Boyd. She said he had previously been diagnosed with schizophrenia and should not have been placed in a unit designated for gang members.

The two minute and 12 second video does not show what occurred prior to the attack. NJ Advance Media has obtained a copy of the video, but is not sharing it due to the violent content.

It also does not appear to show any corrections officers intervening. Boyd is the only inmate wearing an orange jumpsuit and for much of the attack, he is nearly motionless while laying on his back on the floor unable to protect his head or face from the repeated kicks, punches and objects thrown at him.

An Essex County spokesman on Monday declined to comment on the video or the attack. Charges have been filed against all seven men seen on the video attacking Boyd, who has a diagnosis of schizophrenia.

“The initial incident and the release of the video are under investigation,” the spokesman said. “It is our policy not to comment on ongoing investigations.”

The horrific Sept. 23 attack on Boyd put the Elizabeth man in a coma with his long-term prospects for any of kind of significant recovery very much in doubt, Barnett said. Boyd is “coming out of the coma,” but is still unable to speak, she said.

“He’s got a long road ahead of him,” Barnett said. “It’s too early for me to say what long term damage he’s going to have.”

During the attack Boyd was punched, kicked and stomped on by seven men, all of whom have been charged in the beating.

While on the ground, Boyd was also twice hit with a microwave oven and struck with a multi-gallon beverage dispenser, water cooler, trash can and industrial mop bucket. Corrections officers witnessed the beating but did nothing to stop it, Barnett said. Four of the attackers were already facing murder or attempted murder charges.

“Clearly this is a human rights violation, a civil rights violation,” Barnett said. “This is clearly a failure to protect. This kid suffered from mental health issues. He had no business going into a gang unit, he’s never been in a gang in his life.”

Officials at the county jail “entered several falsehoods on Jayshawn’s psychiatric intake questionnaire, denying that he had ever undergone psychiatric treatment or that he had a history of aggressive behavior, labeling him a ‘low’ mental health priority,” Barnett’s law firm said in a statement. “We contend that everything about this attack, including a complete lack of transparency in its wake, hints at a much larger storm of failures, arising from motives ranging from gross negligence to active malice.”

The criminal mischief and unlawful possession of a weapon charges that landed Boyd in the jail have been dropped, Barnett said.

Barnett’s law firm said Boyd was originally charged in two separate altercations in 2020 with his family, including one that involved a kitchen knife. In May, he was transferred from the Essex County jail to Ann Klein, a psychiatric hospital.

He was released pending sentencing and set to plead to criminal mischief and unlawful possession of a weapon. He failed to appear at his sentencing on July 28, but later surrendered.

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Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com.