Ohio to pay $17.5 million to man who was paralyzed after he was tackled by prison guards

Authored by cbsnews.com and submitted by ogier_79

The state of Ohio has agreed to pay $17.5 million to a 21-year-old man who was paralyzed after he was tackled by correctional officers, his attorney announced Monday.

Seth Fletcher was two months away from his release from the Chillicothe Correctional Institution when two prison guards tackled and struck him with "sadistic and malicious force" in April 2020, resulting in critical injuries, including quadriplegia, according to the lawsuit.

"The torture and crippling of a prisoner in America sounds medieval. Yet it happened, here, in America, in 2020. As horrific as this case is, I want to thank the Ohio Attorney General's office and Governor Dewine for accepting responsibility in this most horrific of cases. This abuse should never happen again," attorney Geoffrey Fieger said in a statement.

A spokesperson for Ohio's Department of Rehabilitation and Correction acknowledged the existence of the settlement to CBS News and said the terms of the agreement are still being finalized.

Seth Fletcher following the incident at the Chillicothe Correctional Facility. James Harrington / Fieger Law

According to the complaint, the two officers, "did in fact, participate in, authorized, ratified and/or failed to intervene to prevent sadistic, malicious and excessive uses of force under the circumstances, and acted willfully, wantonly, maliciously and with deliberate indifference to and callous disregard for Seth Fletcher's constitutional rights, and in a manner that shocks the conscience and offends traditional notions of decency."

In Fletcher's lawsuit, his attorneys claimed the guards knew they had left him seriously injured and that he required medical attention but "chose to ignore the condition," and left him alone in a cell for two days before he was taken to a hospital.

When Fletcher had asked for water, the attorneys claimed the officers poured it over his face and then one posted on Facebook, "we also water board[ed] him LMAO."

Fletcher had been serving a two-year prison term for pandering sex material involving minors when he was 18.

Trips_Nicely on November 6th, 2021 at 18:29 UTC »

When Fletcher had asked for water, the attorneys claimed the officers poured it over his face and then one posted on Facebook, "we also water board[ed] him LMAO."

Well that's fucked.

Angelofpity on November 6th, 2021 at 16:42 UTC »

Other news articles go into more detail. And the linked article buries the lede. Apparently, after he, while handcuffed, "pulled away" from guards while being transported from a medical area back to his cell. He was tracked to the ground by two guards. He was then bodily picked up by the same two guards who were joined by two others and repeatedly dropped face first into the concrete, with his ankles suspended. He then declared that he couldn't feel his legs, and had to be carried to his cell where he was left face down on the floor of his cell for two days. This was intentional.

It also turns out that three of the guards involved had previously been reprimanded for medical neglect or excessive use of force.

ImpossibleJoke7456 on November 6th, 2021 at 14:58 UTC »

“Ohio prison guards keep their job after costing the tax payers $17.5 million and paralyzing and neglecting a person in their care.”

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