As reported by Arizona Central 12 News, a family in Hawaii has filed a wrongful death lawsuit naming the state of Hawaii and Corrections Corporation of America for neglect that resulted in the death of their loved one, after he been sent from Hawaii to a mainland prison facility in Arizona.
Another inmate, aged 22, strangled C.M., 23, to death in June of 2010. The suit alleges that C.M. had warned prison officials to separate them.
The suit was filed on May 23. Another lawsuit has also been filed on behalf of a different Hawaiian prisoner – that was stabbed to death by an inmate three months prior in the same Arizona prison.
Saguaro Correctional Center in Eloy, Arizona, is named for lack of staff, and for its staff's failure to control gang violence.
In a conference organized by the Hawaiian chapter of American Civil Liberties Union, B.M., C.M.'s aunt, told reporters, "The last time I ever talked to him was when he was in a Hawaii facility. And then my sister got the call, and that was ... the first and last time I ever found out he was there (in Arizona)."
The "call" was how B.M. learned that her nephew had been killed away from his home and in an Arizona prison.
R.M., C.M.'s sister stood at B.M.'s side during the conference, while holding an urn filled with C.M.'s ashes.
The spokesman for the Nashville, Tenn., based Corrections Corporation of America, Steve Owen, said he had yet to review all of the details in the lawsuit. However, he did state that the company's foremost concern is the protection of its facilities, employees and inmates.
Via e-mail Owen said, "We take all allegations seriously and act swiftly if our standards have not been met."
Corrections Corporation of America, according to their website, owns or operates 60 facilities across the U.S. They hold approximately 75,000 prisoners from about 25 states. Their earnings in 2011 were $162.5 million.
The Arizona facility in which C.M. was killed can house up to 1,900 inmates – and all are sent to them solely from Hawaii.
Hawaii's Department of Public Safety spokeswoman, Toni Schwartz, said that the state attorney general will be handling the case and she had no additional comment.
Attorney Sanford Rosen represents the victim's family. Rosen contends that the prison's system of classification was faulty. Had they classified the prisoners better, Rosen argued, then C.M. would not had been housed in a cell with another prisoner that was known for anger and violence issues.
C.M. also was developmentally disabled.
There are currently no prison facilities in Hawaii that can house the inmates that are sent to Arizona. However, Hawaiian lawmakers are working to bring them back.
If you have lost a loved on in a wrongful death scenario that was no fault of their own, regardless if housed in a prison facility, contact a personal injury lawyer to file your lawsuit.