WA: $9.5 Million Settlement for Registrant Attacked Behind Bars
Pierce County, Washington, has agreed to pay $9.5 million to settle a lawsuit alleging that failures in jail policies, supervision, and staff training allowed a man convicted of a sex offense to be brutally attacked by other inmates.
Whether you agree with someone’s crime or not, this case shines a light on a reality that is too often ignored: people labeled as “sex offenders” are among the most vulnerable populations in our nation’s jails and prisons. Their offenses are often public knowledge, making them frequent targets for intimidation, extortion, and violent assaults by other inmates.
Correctional officials know this. They have a constitutional duty to take reasonable steps to protect those in their custody. When that duty is ignored, the consequences can be catastrophic. Unfortunately, the danger doesn’t exist only behind prison walls.
The public registry has made identifying people convicted of sex offenses easier than ever. Across the country, registrants have been assaulted, threatened, harassed, had their homes vandalized, lost employment, and in some tragic cases, even murdered by individuals who found them through publicly available registry information. FAC has long warned that publicly branding people for life carries real risks—not only for registrants, but also for their spouses, children, parents, and neighbors who often become collateral victims.
This $9.5 million settlement is a reminder that the government cannot place a target on someone’s back – whether by incarcerating them or by placing them on a government-sanctioned public registry — and then ignore the foreseeable risk of harm. When the government creates or amplifies the danger to an individual, it has a corresponding duty to take reasonable steps to protect those individuals.
Discover more from Florida Action Committee (FAC)
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Does his original crime really change the fact that prisons should meet a basic standard of humanity? They have a responsibility to protect not only the people who are incarcerated, but also the correctional officers who work there.
Once someone is sentenced, they’re there to serve the punishment determined by our justice system through the laws established by our legislators. Should they have committed their original crime? Absolutely not. Some crimes are heartbreaking and horrific. But that doesn’t justify beating a person in custody or creating conditions where abuse can happen.
If anyone remembers the deck of cards of wanted terrorists from Iraq, I personally escorted some of those detainees. Even they were expected to be treated according to humane standards.
And consider this: people have been falsely convicted before. If it were you, wouldn’t you still expect basic human dignity, adequate food, and reasonable safety while serving your sentence? Supporting humane treatment isn’t excusing someone’s crimes—it’s upholding the rule of law and the standards we expect from our justice system.
Apparently the victim was a 12 or 13 year old kid having sex with another kid when he was originally put on the sex offender registry ——— (the government-sponsored hatelist/blacklist).
He failed to register 3 times.
I think about the sickness of the ones who condone such brutality and realize that they are members of our communities! These self-righteous pigs walk free among us spouting their hate!
….And they call us perverts!
Are those corrections officers responsible for this guy being attacked going to face criminal charges or just lose their job thus allowing them to find work in a neighboring county?
You already know the answer to the question before you asked it.
“Thin Blue Lies”
If I already knew the answer I wouldn’t have asked the question.
It’s all part of life on the system . The system operating exactly as intended. Regardless of this person’s past the judicial sentence didn’t include “beat to death” as part of the punishment. The US law hasn’t quite went that far yet…That may be next .. It is good to see that a court has decided to rule a financially punitive measure against the state for it’s role. Unfortunately I’m sure the state will be quick to find ways to remove the money before it ever reaches this inmates commissary..