The Colorado Department of Corrections has settled a lawsuit stemming from a 2018 incident in which corrections officers locked a man in a “dry cell” for 12 days without proper health protections during a reported contraband investigation.
The agency settled for $500,000 and agreed to policy changes regarding contraband investigations, the law firm representing the inmate, Zackariah Jones, announced Tuesday.
On Dec. 1, 2018, at the Sterling Correctional Facility, corrections officers in retaliation for “many grievances” Jones had filed against officers, strip-searched Jones repeatedly searching for contraband because an officer said he saw Jones swallow something, according to the law firm of Killmer Lane, LLP.
Jones was then placed in universal restraints, including wrist restraints secured to a belly chain and leg restraints, and left in a “dry cell,” where inmates have no independent access to any water, sink or toilet for 12 days. He was also not allowed to shower or wash his hands, and was not allowed to use toilet paper when using the restroom.
The conditions caused Jones to be in pain and suffer long-lasting abrasions.
The corrections officers used a CDOC policy on contraband investigations that says inmates under investigation have to produce a “substantial amount” of waste before being cleared to keep Jones in this position, the law firm stated.
No contraband was ever found and Jones passed a drug test.
“Defendants’ conduct constituted unlawful torture against Mr. Jones and unlawfully caused him to be confined in shockingly inhumane conditions, violating the prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment of the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America and causing Mr. Jones substantial injuries, pain, and suffering,” the law firm stated.
In addition to the $500,000, CDOC agreed to new policies, so prisoners will now be offered laxatives used to speed the digestive process, and after three bowel movements with no contraband discovered, the dry-celling must end. Investigations longer than 72 hours must also involve a medical professional.
