Former SCI Fayette inmate sues staff over alleged assault
A Philadelphia man who was an inmate at the State Correctional Institution (SCI) at Fayette has filed a federal lawsuit against prison guards and supervisory staff alleging he was the victim of assault by guards who he claims had a vendetta against him.
The plaintiff, 28-year-old Richard Henry, is serving a 17 ½ to 35 year prison sentence for third-degree murder.
The complaint, filed on Wednesday through attorneys Steven M. Barth and Stuart Niemtzow, indicates that Henry had been serving his sentence at the State Correctional Institution at Albion in Erie County when he was transferred in November 2012 to the Luzerne Township lockup on an emergency basis, due to an altercation among himself, inmates and corrections officers at SCI-Albion.
The suit alleges that the staff at SCI-Fayette were aware of the altercation before Henry arrived, and that five corrections officers, identified only by last name in the complaint, allegedly conspired to threaten, harass and abuse him, to even the score for the corrections officers at SCI-Albion.
Currently, Henry is being housed at the State Correctional Institution at Huntingdon in Huntingdon County.
Henry claims that about two months after his arrival at SCI-Fayette, guards approached his cell in a restricted housing unit, handcuffed him and ordered him out of the cell so that his personal belongings could be removed. The guards allegedly accused Henry of having his door covered, which was the impetus for the search and seizure in his cell, the complaint states; however, Henry contends that security footage shows that the door was not covered.
When Henry was returned to his cell, he asked for a grievance form, the suit states, because he believed the search and seizure to be illegal. At that point, a guard allegedly grabbed the still handcuffed inmate and “slammed him to the ground.”
Henry claims he was not a threat to the guards and was behaving submissively as they allegedly punched and kicked him, reportedly leaving a boot print on his forehead.
During the alleged attack, Henry claims the guards shouted at him, “‘This is not Albion,'” and, “‘You won’t make it out of here alive. You thought you was gonna get away with it.'”
As a result of the alleged attack, Henry contends he suffered head trauma, a cervical spine injury, migraines, right shoulder trauma which aggravated a preexisting condition, anxiety and mental distress. He also claims he was denied medical attention following the alleged attack.
Subsequently, the suit states, the guards filed an allegedly fraudulent misconduct complaint against Henry, claiming he assaulted, threatened and used abusive language toward staff and that he refused to obey an order. Henry contends the guards filed a misconduct complaint only after he filed a grievance regarding the same incident.
“In the past,” the suit states, “(the guards from the Feb. 9 incident) and the correctional staff at SCI Fayette would punish any inmates that they wanted to punish for personal reasons and/or to cover up excessive force incidents by filing misconducts.”
Henry contends that the Superintendent Brian V. Coleman and Deputy Superintendents Eric T. Armel and Steven M. Gates had a duty to control and supervise correctional officers at the prison.
Their alleged failure to prevent the alleged attack, as well as the actions of the guards, amount to violations of Henry’s Fifth, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment rights, the suit states.
Henry is asking for in excess of $75,000 in damages and fees.