LAWSUITS NEWS & LEGAL INFORMATION
Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles, CA: (Jul-10-07) The family of Manuel A. Gonzalez Jr., 43, filed a $100 million wrongful death lawsuit in US District Court in Los Angeles against state corrections department officials, accusing them of deliberate indifference. Gonzalez Jr. was stabbed to death by an inmate at the state prison in Chino in 2005. The suit stated that he was stabbed with a handmade weapon, allegedly by inmate Jon Christopher Blaylock. This was the first case of a guard being killed while on duty in a California prison in two decades. Blaylock was serving a 75-year sentence for the attempted murder of a peace officer and had been incarcerated twice during the 1990s on attempted burglary convictions.
After the incident, Gonzalez's family discovered that Blaylock had a history of mental health problems and had assaulted prison staff and other prisoners. Former state Corrections Secretary Roderick Q. Hickman, DiCarlo and former state Corrections Secretary Jeanne Woodford were named as defendants in the suit. The family alleged that prison system administrators contributed to Gonzalez's death by failing to issue him a stab-proof vest and by failing to properly house Blaylock. The prison had the vests, but they were being stored in a warehouse at the time of the stabbing. In a settlement reached, Gonzalez's family will receive $1.2 million from the state in a settlement reached in federal court. [LOS ANGELES TIMES: SLAIN PRISON GUARD]
Published on Jul-11-07
After the incident, Gonzalez's family discovered that Blaylock had a history of mental health problems and had assaulted prison staff and other prisoners. Former state Corrections Secretary Roderick Q. Hickman, DiCarlo and former state Corrections Secretary Jeanne Woodford were named as defendants in the suit. The family alleged that prison system administrators contributed to Gonzalez's death by failing to issue him a stab-proof vest and by failing to properly house Blaylock. The prison had the vests, but they were being stored in a warehouse at the time of the stabbing. In a settlement reached, Gonzalez's family will receive $1.2 million from the state in a settlement reached in federal court. [
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