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| U.S. ends probe of inmate suit |
| By Meghan Mandeville, News Research Reporter, Kentucky Post |
| Published: 12/23/2003 |
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The Justice Department has closed its investigation of civil rights violations against two Grant County, Ky. jail inmates, saying there is no evidence that would warrant criminal prosecution. But the investigation into other complaints continues, and an attorney for one of the inmates says the federal finding will not affect his case, which is proceeding. The two inmates sued the Grant County Detention Center claiming their civil rights were violated by jail officers who beat them and other mistreatment. Albert N. Moskowitz of the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department, wrote a letter this month saying "After careful consideration, we conclude that the evidence does not establish a prosecutable violation of the federal criminal civil rights statutes.'' He said his department has closed its investigation. Attorney Don Nageleisen represents George Overby of Cordova, one of the two whose cases the Justice Department discounted. "There is still a possibility that the civil rights section could find civil violations,'' Nageleisen said. Six other inmates have filed suit with similar claims and a jail nurse has sued, claiming she was fired, in part, because she raised concerns about inmate care. Nageleisen said he represents five of the six former inmates who have sued, including Overby. Two claim to have been sodomized while in the jail. He also says the jail cannot handle people with disabilities. Since spring, four lawsuits have been thrown out. All of those were by plaintiffs who represented themselves. Jailer Steve Kellam said the Justice Department letter supports what the jail has been saying all along. "They cleared us. We feel good about that," he said. "The chief law enforcement agency in the United States, the FBI, came in and conducted an investigation and concluded that there was no violation of federal civil rights law. That's been out contention all along." |
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