Quote:
Originally Posted by verbaljitsu
when the inmate is scheduled for execution, it would have the effect of "executing" the damages.
No doubt prisons are responsible for prisoner safety. But that doesn't mean they are liable for every suicide. In this case it looks like the man overdosed on prescription drugs. It is unclear where they came from. So I won't speculate on liability, but it isn't as open and shut as you think.
You are right that prisoners are constantly suing prisons. It is actually kind of joke in the system. Those actions are not taken particularly seriously, and the courts have been rolling back whatever rights those prisoners have had for years. It is also irrelevant to this case.
My point is, to win the plaintiffs would have to show a duty, breach of the duty, causation, and damages. What are the damages for a death row inmate scheduled to die the next day? ZERO. There is not a judge or jury in this country that would award the family any money.
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Well they spend tens of millions of dollars not taking it seriously every year.
You wouldn't have much trouble showing duty or breach of duty. The prison is responsible for the inmate, they allowed him the drugs knowing he was at risk for suicide.
There are plenty of juries that would award money, Would it be tens of millions? No. But there's plenty of cases of juries awarding money for cases that don't seem to warrant it. You can't just say, "No jury would award damages." The prison would probably settle without even going to trial. You'd probably have the prison attorney having to investigate, prepare paperwork, get statements, etc. and they're probably not even the ones that would argue in court. They would probably hand the case to someone else. That's a lot of time and money. If this guy had died, and his family sued, they would get something, and it would be more than $1. The prison would most likely cut them a check. You can't just say, "He was going to die. His life wasn't worth anything" in court. It would sound too callous.