By AP/St. Louis Public Radio
St. Louis – A federal judge has sided with an inmate over missing videotapes taken during the man's 17-hour restraint at a Missouri prison.
Judge Richard Dorr agreed with offender Darrin Walker that the Department of Corrections intentionally destroyed the videotapes to "suppress the truth."
Walker, a convicted murderer, claims in a lawsuit he was restrained without water or bathroom breaks for at least 17 hours for refusing to have a cellmate.
Corrections officials claim Walker was offered breaks and water but refused. The department declined to comment Wednesday.