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| Family of inmate slain with officer in escape bid sues state prisons |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 10/15/2004 |
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Relatives of an inmate killed last year, along with an officer, during a botched escape attempt by other inmates at a Punta Gorda prison sued the state of Florida Thursday. Attorney Guy Rubin filed the lawsuit against the Department of Corrections on behalf of the family of Charles Fuston. The suit claims that policy violations at Charlotte Correctional Institution led to Fuston's death. Fuston, 36, was one of five inmates on a work squad in June 2003 when three of the prisoners attacked him and prison officer Darla Lathrem, state investigators say. The inmates beat Lathrem to death and stuffed her body into a locked mop closet. Fuston died later that week. Lathrem was the first female officer ever killed in Florida. Inmates Dwight Eaglin, Michael Jones and Stephen Smith each were charged with two counts of first-degree murder. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. Fuston had served 10 years of a 30-year sentence for crimes that included burglary and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of his sisters in circuit court in Tallahassee, seeks an unspecified amount of at least $15,000. The state Department of Corrections acknowledged in a lengthy administrative review that prison administrators ignored six policies the night of the escape attempt. DOC Secretary James Crosby reprimanded a handful of officers and administrators, and Warden Warren Cornell resigned. DOC spokesman Sterling Ivey said Thursday the department had not yet been served with the lawsuit and would review it when it was received. |
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