Trial begins for former prisoner claiming civil rights violation
A federal jury began hearing evidence Tuesday in a civil rights case that stems from a 2008 incident at the Southern Desert Correctional Center in Indian Springs.
Former inmate Michael Clark, who is representing himself in the case, claims correctional officer John Thomas allowed another inmate to attack him on Nov. 9, 2008, in the prison’s recreational yard.
Clark, now a Las Vegas resident, claims his constitutional right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment was violated. He claims Thomas allowed the attack to continue uninterrupted for 10 minutes.
According to the defendant’s trial brief, prepared by lawyers with the Nevada attorney general’s office, Clark and inmate Dalvon Terry got into a fistfight, but it lasted less than 10 seconds.
Clark is seeking $2 million in compensatory damages plus punitive damages. U.S. District Judge Jennifer Dorsey is presiding over the trial.
Contact reporter Carri Geer Thevenot at cgeer@reviewjournal.com or 702-384-8710. Find her on Twitter: @Carri Geer.
