$77,000 Awarded to Prisoner by Washington DOC in Settlement Over Prisoner Stabbing
$77,000 Awarded to Prisoner by Washington DOC in Settlement Over Prisoner Stabbing
The Washington State Department of Corrections settled in June 2003 a personal injury claim filed as a result of a multiple stabbing incident at Walla Walla State Penitentiary by Prisoner Anthony B. DeFroe. DeFroe was awarded $77,700 plus $22,301.74 for attorney fees. As part of the agreement, DeFroe was transferred out of state.
While in population at Walla Walla in August 1998, DeFroe was attacked by another prisoner, Gary Bau, and stabbed repeatedly with a single blade from a pair of 5” scissors. There had been ongoing animosity between DeFroe and Bau. DeFroe was working in his assigned area at the time of the incident, Bau was in an unauthorized area.
DeFroe filed a personal injury suit with Thurston county, Washington Superior Court in October 2000 alleging negligence on the part of Walla Wall prison staff for not maintaining sufficient inventory of and control over weapons-grade tools, and a 42 USC §1983 civil rights claim against prison staff for callous and deliberate indifference to DeFroe’s well-being, depriving him of his right to personal safety and bodily integrity and subjecting him to cruel and unusual punishment in violation of freedoms guaranteed by the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States of America. See: State of Washington, Division of Risk Management, Claim No: 31051192, June 20, 2003; Case No: 01-2-00544-9 Thurston Co. Superior Court.
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Related legal case
State of Washington, Division of Risk Management
| Year | 2003 |
|---|---|
| Cite | Claim No: 31051192, June 20, 2003; Case No: 01-2-00544-9 Thurston Co. Superior Court |
| Level | State |
| Conclusion | Settlement |
| Attorney Fees | 22,301.74 |
| Damages | 77,000 |