$13,000 Jury Award to Tennessee Prisoner Held on Invalid Escape Warrant
$13,000 Jury Award to Tennessee Prisoner Held on Invalid Escape Warrant
A Tennessee federal jury awarded $13,000 to a former prisoner alleging he was unconstitutionally imprisoned and denied medical treatment while held in Tennessee prisons.
Samuel C. Key was serving a Georgia-imposed sentence in April of 1994 when he was granted parole. That parole, however, was revoked when the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) issued a detainer on him for an alleged February 9, 1996 escape.
As a result of the detainer, Key remained in a Georgia prison until paroled on November 12, 1998. He was then extradited to the custody of TDOC, based upon the escape warrant detainer. While confined in the Georgia prison, Key developed diabetes and underwent surgery for circulation problems in both legs. During his transport to TDOC, Key was denied all medication except insulin, resulting in a worsening of his condition.
Once received by the TDOC, Key began inquiries into why he was being held. TDOC employee Carolyn Claud noted in a February 11, 1999 email that Key contended he was not the correct person named on the warrant for the alleged 1996 escape, but she failed to pursue the matter further. Also, it was later discovered that the warrant TDOC was holding Key on had never been signed by a judicial officer, rendering the warrant invalid.
After persistently pursuing the matter and getting no positive action from TDOC or Corrections Corporation of America, Key obtained habeas relief from a state court. But, despite an order for his release, CCA’s warden of Hardeman County Correctional Facility, Carry Cravens, told Key the judge’s order “did not mean anything.” He said the judge “may run those rednecks in Morgan County, but he does not run CCA.”
A June 29, 2001 emergency order from the court ordered that Key be released within the hour, but he was not released until July 3, 2001. A jury awarded Key $10,000 in compensatory damages against Claud and $3,000 against Crowens. Key was represented by Nashville attorney Mary Leech. See: Key v. Sundquist, U.S.D.C. (M.D. Tenn.), Case No. 3:01-cv-01269.
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Related legal case
Key v. Sundquist
| Year | 2001 |
|---|---|
| Cite | U.S.D.C. (M.D. Tenn.), Case No. 3:01-cv-01269 |
| Level | District Court |
| Damages | 13,000 |