On behalf of Plaintiff Haley Metcalf, Kaplan & Grady filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against prison officials at Logan Correctional Center, alleging that they were deliberately indifferent to the substantial risk that she would be assaulted. Ms. Metcalf, who was sentenced to a short prison term for a nonviolent offense, was assigned to a cell with a prisoner who had an extensive criminal and disciplinary record and a reputation for violence. Ms. Metcalf repeatedly reported to prison officials that she was being sexually harassed by her cellmate and that she feared she would be seriously harmed, but they did nothing to protect her. As a result, Ms. Metcalf was brutally raped by her cellmate causing physical injuries that required surgery and lasting emotional trauma.
After a two-week trial, the jury returned a verdict for Ms. Metcalf against several prison officials who knew that she was in danger, as well as officials who disregarded their duties to properly classify prisoners like Ms. Metcalf’s cellmate according to their risk of being a predator. Ms. Metcalf additionally succeeded on her claim against the former warden of Logan Correctional Center who decided to release the most dangerous prisoners into the general population without instituting any additional safety measures to protect prisoners or staff. The jury awarded Ms. Metcalf $2 million in compensatory damages and $2.35 million in punitive damages.
