Opinion ID: 458728
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Proof of Injury and Actual Damages

Text: 32 The jury was instructed to determine whether the damage or injury complained of by the inmates was proximately caused by the defendants' unconstitutional acts and omissions. The injury claimed by the class was denial of rights guaranteed by the Constitution, including due process and equal protection. The totality of the circumstances, the inmates contended, resulted in the inmates being submitted to cruel and unusual punishment. The inmates argue that the cruel and unusual punishment present at Madison County Jail, in that it was inflicted upon each and every inmate[,] must presumptively have harmed everyone. The only specific harm identified by the inmates that is applicable to all the members of the class was increased stress. The testimony of Dr. Dwight Schuster and five former inmates was offered in support of this contention. Three of the four who claimed additional individual damages, Bernard Bond, Roger Corbin and Rickey Baines, were among those who testified. 3 33 Baines, who received a jury verdict of $10,000, had been assaulted in his cell. He testified regarding the conditions in the various cell blocks in which he was confined, and that during his stay in Block D he had observed homosexual activity, food stealing and fights. He indicated that these incidents were not reported because of fear of retaliation. TR. at III, 87. Baines also observed toilet paper hoarding. TR. at IV, 146. While confined in the boards 4 Baines stated that he was very depressed. TR. at III, 102. 34 Corbin had been involved in a fight while in the jail, but his claim for additional damages was rejected by the jury. He testified that he would not shower because he feared homosexual assault. TR. at IV, 29-30. He also testified that food was stolen from the inmates by threat of violence. TR. at IV, 28-29. Corbin testified that as a result of his incarceration he was pale, anxietous [sic] and tormented and that he had lost about 25 pounds. TR. at IV, 45. However, he later admitted that he had suffered emotional distress prior to his stay in the jail. He in fact had been seeing a psychiatrist regularly after having suffered a nervous breakdown. TR. at IV, 61-62. 35 Bond, who had been incarcerated 121 separate times, 22 during the period at issue, testified that he had never been involved in a fight at the jail and that he had heard of but never witnessed homosexual activity. TR. at IV, 192. He, too, indicated that food and cigarettes were stolen. TR. at IV, 187. Bond's claim for separate relief was rejected by the jury. 36 Former inmates John English and Darance White made no claim for damages beyond those of the class. English testified, as discussed supra, that he had been in the same cell with Glen Adkins when Adkins was violently beaten and homosexually raped. He testified that he was fearful and scared during his eight day stay at Madison County Jail. TR. at VII, 96. White testified that he was beaten for no apparent reason while playing checkers. TR. at IV, 153. 37 Dr. Dwight Schuster, a physician specializing in forensic psychiatry, had never visited Madison County Jail, so his testimony was confined to general statements about human reactions to conditions like those present at Madison County Jail. He testified that the environment of the jail would cause stress to anyone. TR. at VI, 150. He elaborated, saying that stress reactions vary with the preexisting condition in the individual, the duration of the stress, and isolation versus group association. TR. at VI, 151. He estimated that about ten percent of the population would react with significant emotional or mental difficulty. TR. at VI, 153. He noted that as a general rule, the longer the period of stress, whatever kind it is, it is more likely there will be a breakdown. TR. at VI, 158. 38 Dr. Schuster testified that the experience of being in jail of itself is certainly something that leaves its mark, and when the jail conditions of incarceration have other negative elements the mark is probably more severe. TR. at VI, 154. He testified further that every individual that goes through a jail experience is going to have that mark that he or she will remember the rest of their life. Id. Dr. Schuster stated that fear of homosexual attack is prevalent among younger inmates in all prisons. TR. at VI, 156. Upon being asked whether the opinions he had given would be true for any penal facility, Dr. Schuster answered, Yes. TR. at VI, 162. He also testified that if a person is bent on suicide it is difficult to stop him. TR. at VI, 164. He indicated that those inmates who stayed only a short time in the Madison County Jail would be less affected than those who stayed, for example, thirty days. TR. at VI, 170. Dr. Schuster also stated that something as simple as a color could affect a person. TR. at VI, 174. 39 We conclude, after reviewing the record, that the plaintiffs failed to present evidence which would support a finding of consequential injury to the class as a whole. The testimony of the inmates, in the main, reaffirmed the nature of the conditions in the jail. Corbin indicated his fear of homosexual attack but Dr. Schuster stated that this fear is common among all young inmates. Also, Dr. Schuster indicated that only 10% of the inmates confined for long periods of time would have suffered severe stress. Mark Thompson, Sheriff of Madison County, testified that 80% of the inmate class were detained for a period of two days or less. 5 The inmate who had suffered personal injury which occurred as a consequence of inadequate supervision, Baines, recovered individual damages. 40