Inmate’s appeal denied in Pa. corrections officer assault that led to amputation

By Ed Lewis
The Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — A Pennsylvania appellate court upheld the lengthy prison sentence for a Wilkes-Barre woman convicted of assaulting a Luzerne County corrections officer who required amputation of her left hand.

Crystal Inez Kelly, 45, believed her sentence of eight years, six months to 25 years in state prison imposed by Judge David W. Lupas was excessive and harsh.

A jury convicted Kelly of felony aggravated assault and felony assault by prisoner following a one-day trial before Lupas in December 2023.

Kelly was incarcerated at the county correctional facility on a child endangerment charge in June 2020, when she was being prepared to be escorted for a video hearing, according to court records.

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Court records say Kelly refused to have leg shackles placed on her, telling a female corrections officer, “No, I’m not a slave, you’re not putting those on me.”

Kelly was facing a wall as the corrections officer was behind her holding a restraint belt.

Court records say Kelly violently rushed backwards causing an injury to the corrections officer’s left hand. As Kelly was being restrained by other staff, she grabbed and squeezed the injured hand of the corrections officer, court records say.

The corrections officer underwent numerous medical tests for bone and nerve damage eventually having her left hand above the wrist amputated.

In her appeal, Kelly believed her sentence was excessive and claimed Lupas wrongfully denied a request to have her trial continued in order to retain a medical expert to challenge the nature and cause of the injuries to the corrections officer.

A three member panel of the Pennsylvania Superior Court rejected Kelly’s appeal in a 10-page opinion issued Tuesday, finding Lupas correctly imposed her sentence and denied her request to postponed the trial.

Lupas structured Kelly’s sentence for the corrections officer’s assault conviction to begin once she completes a one-to-two year sentence for child endangerment.

In that case, Kelly was charged for leaving her then 3-year-old son unsupervised for nearly eight hours at her residence on Coal Street, Wilkes-Barre, on June 18, 2020, court records say.

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