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| Boot-camp death lawsuit goes to jury |
| By Fort Worth Star-Telegram |
| Published: 09/05/2003 |
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A Tarrant County, Texas, jury began deliberations last week in the wrongful-death lawsuit in the case of an Arlington man who died while serving a drunken-driving sentence at the former Mansfield boot camp. Bryan Alexander, 18, died of pneumonia at John Peter Smith Hospital on Jan. 9, 2001 -- days after he complained of feeling weak and coughing up blood. He had a rare penicillin-resistant infection, hospital tests later revealed. Attorneys for his parents -- Rickey Alexander and Judy Schumpert -- said the Florida-based private company that operated the boot camp and its nurse, Knyvett Reyes, ignored his pleas for medical attention and could have saved his life. 'They don't believe they did anything wrong,' said Jeff Kobs, one of seven attorneys representing the Alexander family. 'No one has come to this courtroom to say they were sorry or regret what they did. I want you to tell these people they are responsible and what happened was wrong.' Alexander's parents are suing Reyes and Correctional Services Corp., which contracted to run the 370-bed facility for probationers and drug treatment. Plaintiffs' attorneys suggested an award of $75 million for Alexander's death, his suffering and his parents' mental anguish. A jury of five women and seven men listened to nearly eight hours of closing arguments Monday in the trial that began July 7. Attorney Vic Anderson, who represents CSC, said the plaintiffs' witnesses were not credible because they were mostly former inmates at the boot camp, and he frequently called them 'criminals.' Anderson also said that Alexander showed signs of having a cold or the flu but that he was not seriously ill until he was transported to JPS. Reyes was convicted of negligent homicide last year in Alexander's death and sentenced to four years' probation. But attorneys for the Alexander family could not present her conviction to jurors because the case is under appeal. The county's 19 criminal court judges closed the boot camp in July 2001 amid an array of problems at the facility. Attorneys for the Alexander family are also suing the judges who oversaw the facility in 2000 and 2001 and the probation department. Reyes surrendered her nursing license in 2001 during a state nursing board investigation. |
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