WILMINGTON (AP) - A jury has acquitted an inmate accused of leading a riot at Delaware's maximum-security prison during which a guard was killed and other staffers taken hostage.
Jurors deliberated over two days before acquitting 32-year-old Roman Shankaras on Thursday in the death of Steven Floyd.
Shankaras recently completed a seven-year sentence for unrelated riot and robbery charges. The acquittal spares him from a mandatory life sentence.
Shankaras is one of 18 inmates indicted after the 2017 riot, 16 of whom were charged with murder in Floyd's death. Two guards were released by inmates after being beaten and tormented. A female counselor was held hostage for nearly 20 hours before tactical teams burst in and rescued her.
Two other trials against seven inmates resulted in only one murder conviction.