[Download] "Cortes-Quinones v. Jimenez-Nettleship" by United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ~ Book PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Cortes-Quinones v. Jimenez-Nettleship
- Author : United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
- Release Date : January 28, 1988
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 74 KB
Description
On September 30, 1981, Puerto Rico prison officials transferred William Arenas Cortes, a psychiatrically disturbed prisoner, and thirty-nine other prisoners, from the State Penitentiary to the Arecibo District Jail, a jail so overcrowded that space per prisoner amounted to 15.5 square feet (e.g., 30 by 74 inches). Within a matter of a few months, Arenas was found dead, his body dismembered. His mother brought this civil rights action, 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (1982), against three prison officials, claiming that their actions amounted to "cruel and unusual" punishment of her son in violation of the Eighth Amendment. After various preliminary proceedings, see Quinones v. Nettleship, 773 F.2d 10 (1st Cir. 1985), a jury returned a verdict in her favor in the sum of $247,000. The court awarded her attorneys $82,000 in fees and costs. The three defendants appeal these awards. In respect to the main issues that concern liability, we find no legal error. Other, subsidiary aspects of the case, however, will require further proceedings.