12 strange reasons why prisoners sued the prison
According to The New York Times, prisons are required to provide prisoners in the United States with access to legal materials and mail. In addition, prisoners have the opportunity to file a lawsuit against anything. They have a lot of free time, so the court often flew the most ridiculous claims. Some complained about the bad food in the cafeteria, some complained about God, and others demanded pornography. What else did the prisoners come up with?
Lawrence Bittaker, along with other criminals, drove a specially equipped van and killed women using household tools.
In prison, Bittaker made greeting cards and filed senseless lawsuits against everyone he knew. One day, he filed a lawsuit against the prison canteen-they allegedly served too wet sandwiches, and cookies that crumbled badly.
Joseph Gonzalez, a convicted sex offender, is suing because he got a "defective haircut" while in prison.
According to attorney Ann H. Mathews, Gonzalez claimed to have lost sleep, developed chest pains, and headaches after getting a haircut.
Kenneth Parker asked for two cans of peanut butter in the prison cafeteria, and paid five dollars. However, the prison could not provide two cans, and only one was sold.
He later sued the prison under the Civil Rights Act of 1871. He claimed $ 5,500 in damages, as well as moral compensation, as he was in "emotional exhaustion" afterwards.
Jesse Dimmick broke into the home of Jared and Lindsey Rowley in Kansas. Dimmick held them captive, and the terrified Rowleys fed him and even watched movies with him.
While he was sleeping, the couple escaped and contacted the police, after which he was arrested. But from prison, Dimmick sued his victims – he said that they allegedly agreed to hide him from the police, and took him into their home. The case was later closed due to the lack of any evidence.
Robert Lee Brock served 23 years for burglary and grand larceny.
He once sued himself for $ 5 million – he allegedly violated his own civil rights and religious principles by allowing himself to get drunk and commit theft. The criminal expected that the state should bear the obligation to cover this claim. The case, of course, was dismissed.
In 2005, Romanian prisoner Pavel Mircea was serving a 20-year sentence for murder, and sued the Orthodox Church.
Mircea claimed that a contract was made between him and God at his baptism. In exchange for prayers, God had to protect him from the influence of Satan. The lack of this protection of God directly led to Mircea committing the murder, and he insisted that all responsibility lay with the Almighty.
Roy Clendinen, who is serving time in a prison in Syracuse, New York, filed a civil rights lawsuit in 1992.
The prison guard refused to put Clendinen's ice cream (which he received as a reward) in the freezer, and it melted. He demanded compensation of one million dollars for cruelty and moral damage caused.
In 2004, Scott Gomez sued the prison after a failed escape attempt using a homemade candle.
With a candle, he melted the ceiling tiles, and made his way to the roof, from where he jumped (the height was 12 meters) and received numerous injuries. Gomez sued, claiming that the prison did not take appropriate measures to prevent his escape. Moreover, he had already tried to escape several times, and the prison allegedly had to take into account his "inclinations".
Robber Robert Paul Rice sued the prison for violating religious freedom.
According to the criminal, in the first days of the term, he reported that he belonged to a clan of druidic vampires – accordingly, he needed human blood to feed him. In prison, he was refused, and he filed a civil rights lawsuit.
James Higgason sued a prison in Indiana because he didn't have access to pornography. Higgason and his lawyers argued that he had a right to pornographic magazines and other materials in prison, and the lack of access to them caused him "emotional distress." He filed a total of 114 lawsuits, trying to achieve what he wanted, but he never succeeded.
Inmate John Robert Demos sued for the fact that in prison he could not exchange paper money for silver.
Such a law existed until 1971, but when he was in prison, many years had passed. Demos also sued for $ 15 million because he was denied a name change. He eventually filed about 32 lawsuits.
Kevin Howard sued because he was convinced that the prison authorities were broadcasting his thoughts on a speakerphone.
According to him, prison officials illegally implanted a device in his brain that allowed them to control and broadcast his thoughts. As a result, the prison provided evidence that Howard had never had surgery, and the case was soon closed.
Keywords: Court | Peace | Prison | Positive | Prisoners | Society | Absurdity