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| Court rules officers not negligent in stabbing of inmate |
| By The Salt Lake Tribune |
| Published: 05/17/2004 |
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Inmate Ernesto Bryce Hards says he was so worried when two members of a white supremacist gang were moved into the cell next to his at the Utah State Prison that he twice slipped "kites," or notes, to officers telling them that he was in danger. But the correctional officers did nothing, he claims. And the next morning, as soon as the cell doors were opened to let prisoners out for recreation time, the two Soldiers of the Aryan Culture (SAC) ran to him and stabbed him a dozen times, inflicting life-threatening injuries. Hards insists that correctional officials showed deliberate indifference about his safety, amounting to a violation of the Eighth Amendment prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. But a federal judge disagreed. U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball has found in favor of the defendants, ruling that there is no evidence any officer read the notes and knew of the risk. Court records show that inmates Steve Swena and Lance Vanderstappen were moved to the cell next to Hards, who is Latino, the day before the Jan. 20, 2001, attack. The two were SAC members, but a check of the prison safety concern database showed no information that they might be a risk. Hards, who recovered from his injuries, alleged that prison officials should have known to keep Swena and Vanderstappen away from him because of prior problems he experienced with members of the gang. However, Kimball wrote in his ruling last Tuesday, "The court is deeply troubled by the seemingly unnecessary pain, suffering, and permanent injuries sustained by the plaintiff as a result of the attack by Swena and Vanderstappen. Nevertheless, defendants' negligence is not enough to support a finding of deliberate indifference in violation of the Eighth Amendment." Jack Ford, a spokesman for the Department of Corrections, said officials are pleased with the ruling, but also "deeply troubled" by the attack Soldiers of the Aryan Culture, which was founded in 1997, operates both inside and outside the Utah prison system. Swena and Vanderstappen were among a dozen men accused in an indictment unsealed in December of carrying out drug deals, extortions and violent attacks for the group. |
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