No money awarded in prison death lawsuit
Jun. 2—ASHLAND — After about two hours of deliberation, a jury found no evidence of negligence from Little Sandy Correctional Complex employees in the death of a 23-year-old inmate in 2016.
The plaintiffs brought the suit alleging various prison staffers were responsible for the death due to an error in classification of the two inmates, arguing the two should have never been permitted to be near one another and therefore Danny Oscar Hensley's family was entitled to compensation.
According to court testimony, Randy Bowman was classified as a high-risk abuser and Hensley a high-risk victim — to allow the two together would violate the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act.
After resuming testimony Thursday morning, the final day of a two-day trial, Magistrate Judge Edward B. Atkins ruled to dismiss claims against defendants Heather Bossio, Lorie Conley and Paul Holbrook. Atkins stated there were no specific reasons presented by the plaintiffs any of them had caused direct harm to Hensley.
Atkins included while the two should be kept separate, it only applied to a cell itself, not by dorm which the two shared.
Jurors were then instructed to determine whether the last remaining defendant, Correctional Officer Derek Maggard, acted in accordance to his duty as an officer or whether his alleged negligence resulted in harm to Hensley.
During closing arguments, Aaron Bentley, attorney for the plaintiffs, pressed on the issue of Maggard's lack of concern when a towel was draped over Bowman's door. Bentley alleged had Maggard ordered it down, Bowman wouldn't have had the ability to murder Hensley inside the cell.
Bentley said Maggard ignored two rules to the detriment of Hensley's safety. No coverings were allowed over cell doors and no inmate was allowed in a cell that was not their own.
Hensley and Bowman were not permitted to be in a cell together, Bentley argued, adding had Maggard followed prison policy to check rosters, he would have known the two should have been separated, in addition to allowing the towel to stay in place for 30 minutes.
Providing video footage, the jurors viewed surveillance video inside the prison, which showed what appeared to be a towel blocking the window to Bowman's cell for several minutes.
During closing argument, attorney Edward A. Baylous II told jurors the plaintiffs attempted to mislead them with an edited video clip, saying what appeared to be a towel was actually Bowman standing in front of the doorway.
Baylous added even if it was a towel, Maggard was accustomed to prisoners blocking their windows while they used the restroom, as the toilet was easily viewed from outside the cell.
Baylous argued Maggard didn't feel there was anything malicious happening in the cell, in fact, he was acting to offer modesty to "dehumanized" prisoners who couldn't use the restroom privately.
Baylous agreed Maggard's job was to enforce rules, but ultimately it was Hensley's responsibility to obey them.
"Grief has no bottom to it," Baylous said. "But it's not appropriate to use that sympathy against Maggard."
Baylous closed his argument to the jury by stating the primary responsibility of Hensley's death was Bowman's and the rest of the responsibility fell on Hensley himself for entering Bowman's cell against prison policy.
The jurors unanimously decided Maggard acted justly and awarded no compensatory damages.
(606) 326-2652 — mjepling@dailyindependent.com
