Former MC Prison Guard Gets a Four-Year Sentence

By Roberta Cantrell
BSN Editor

A former Martin County prison lieutenant who was convicted in a conspiracy of abusing inmates has been sentenced.

Terry Melvin, 60, entered a guilty plea Jan. 24, 2025, to conspiring with fellow officers at the United States Penitentiary Big Sandy to brutally assaulting inmates and falsifying reports to conceal the abuse.

On Thursday, April 2, he was sentenced to four years of imprisonment. In his plea agreement, he described an “unofficial” policy of abuse at the prison.

Melvin said in his plea that he knew it was wrong to take part in the scheme, but that he and others received promotions for going along with it. Melvin said he, along with other officers received a total of $6,000 to $8,000 in cash in Oct. of 2021.

His understanding was that they got the money for taking part in the conspiracy.

Under Bureau of Prisons rules, inmates who request protective custody due to threats are placed in a special housing unit, or SHU, while their claims are investigated. But Melvin’s plea agreement revealed that he conspired with at least 17 other prison employees, including several senior staff, to reduce the population of the SHU by assaulting inmates.

The plea agreement says inmates were given a chance to withdraw their complaints, and those who did would be returned to their regular housing unit. Those who didn’t would be assaulted by prison employees, then false reports would be filed claiming the abuse was a response to the prisoner attacking a guard.

The two charges against Melvin were punishable by up to 10 years each. In its statement, the Bureau of Prisons said it wholeheartedly supports holding employees accountable for misconduct “to the fullest extent of the law,” and said it is actively rooting out such misconduct. The agency said it also is important to point out that “the vast majority of our employees are hardworking, ethical, diligent corrections professionals, who act with integrity daily and want those engaging in misconduct to be held accountable.”

Melvin’s 48-month sentence was less than the 63 months prosecutors had been seeking, but more than the 12 months and one day Melvin had requested.