An Atlantic City man’s family is trying to find out what happened to him after being denied access to him following an alleged beating by corrections officers in a state prison.
Dontae Hathaway, 31, filed a grievance against a Bayside State Prison corrections officers on April 10, according to his mother. That Saturday, she got a call from the family member of a fellow inmate telling her Hathaway had been severely beaten.
No one has been allowed contact with Hathaway since, including an attorney who called on his behalf, Galloway Township attorney Ralph Paolone confirmed.
“The inmate was moved from Bayside to Southern State following an incident that took place at Bayside,” Department of Corrections spokesman Matthew Schuman told BreakingAC on Saturday.
He said an investigation is ongoing, and that once it’s complete, there will be a hearing.
Schuman could not give details on the incident.
Hathaway had been in Bayside since January 2016, serving a 10-year sentence on drug and gun charges. His state DOC page lists him as an inmate at Southern State.
The two prisons are less than a mile from one another on Route 47 in Maurice River Township.
Nadine Hathaway, who lives in North Carolina, said she is using the phone and internet to try to fight for her son from miles away. She is also trying to get money together to come to New Jersey.
She and other family members have been calling for answers, but what they have been told is “not adding up,” Hathaway told BreakingAC.
She was told her son was moved from Bayside to Southern State on April 13, before the alleged beating.
“There is no way they moved him to Southern State (at that time) when the situation occurred in Bayside,” she said. “There are just so many different stories that were going on. Those were the questions we keep asking them.”
Without answers, the man’s family took to social media, posting a photo of Hathaway and what they have been told happened, including reported injuries.
“His lawyer has been denied access to his client which leads us to believe they are covering up their actions,” reads the post that has been shared multiple times on Facebook and Instagram. “Per New Jersey Department of Corrections, Dontae has had zero disciplinary actions or violent incidents while in custody.
Nadine Hathaway is calling for everyone on Facebook supporting her son’s case to go live at 8 p.m. Saturday and say, “Justice for Dontae Hathaway,” adding, “(it’s) time to make some real noise.”
Without answers, the man’s family took to social media, posting a photo of Hathaway and what they have been told happened, including reported injuries.
“His lawyer has been denied access to his client which leads us to believe they are covering up their actions,” reads the post that has been shared multiple times on Facebook and Instagram. “Per New Jersey Department of Corrections, Dontae has had zero disciplinary actions or violent incidents while in custody.
Nadine Hathaway is calling for everyone on Facebook supporting her son’s case to go live at 8 p.m. Saturday and say, “Justice for Dontae Hathaway,” adding, “(it’s) time to make some real noise.”
