Louisiana Jury wins more than $40 million from family of people who died in private prison
NEW ORLEANS (AP) – A federal jury has found a private company that runs a Louisiana prison liable for a man’s fatal head injuries he suffered while in prison.
Attorneys representing Erie Moore Sr. It is believed that the decision given this week in the West Louisiana district is among the highest Jury Awards in the US
“Ten years ago, my sister and I were tortured and we know that she doesn’t rest easy,” said her son, this case shed light on the darkness, justice and peace. “
Moore was a 57-year-old drug addict father of three without a history who was arrested on Oct. 12, 2015, for disturbing the peace at a donut shop in Monroe, Louisiana.
Moore was developed and disturbed and could be improved in custody at Richwood Correctional Center, according to court filings. His lawyer, Max Cchuening, said Moore was “‘unsane’ at the time he was arrested.
Schwoening says guards pepper-sprayed him at least eight times during the 36 hours he was in jail.
Court records, including footage from jailhouse security cameras that was entered into evidence and viewed by the Associated Press, showed Moore being brutally beaten by several guards. Some footage shows the guards taking Moore by the legs and arms when one of the guards stumbles, and Moore’s head is on the ground.
So Moore was brought to the side of the jail without security cameras. He was kept there, unseen, for about two hours, when no medical attention was called, court records show.
“The jury found the security guards continued to use excessive force against Mr. Moore in the camera area -” Schuening said. “When Sheriffs from another law enforcement agency came to take him to another jail they found him unconscious and completely unresponsive.”
When Moore finally arrived at the hospital hours later he was already in a coma and died a month later, court records show. The Ouachita Parish Coroner ruled Moore’s death a homicide due to blunt force trauma to the head.
A Federal jury found the three guards liable for negligence, battery and excessive force. The jury also found Lasalle Management Co, which runs the Richwood Correctional Center, liable for Moore’s death due to the negligence of at least one security guard.
No one has been charged with a crime in Moore’s death, Chasching added.
The jury ordered Lasalle and Richwood to pay $ 23.25 million in amortization and $ 19.5 million in alimony for the three children of the elderly Moore.
“This is the largest compensatory damages award I’ve ever heard of,” said Jay Aronson, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University and co-author of Custody: How We’ve Been Neglected. “
The City of Monroe has a contract with the Richwood Correctional Center for its jail facility from 2001 to 2019.
The Richwood Correctional Center now serves as a detention center. Last year, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency said Lasalle was “an important part of the ICE detention program.”
Lasalle did not respond to requests for comment sent to attorneys or a spokesperson. The city of Monroe declined to comment.
“Erie Moore Sr. The life of Sr. A gift to his family and the community. Lasalle Management Co. “It is a testament to the love of his children, the courage and tenacity of that, in the face of great odds, they found justice for their father and the historic victory of land rights in this country.”
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Brook is a Corps member of the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. America’s Report is a national nonprofit service program that places reporters in local outlets to report on undocumented issues.
