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$750 Award in Prison Failure to Protect Prisoner Suit

Alfredo Bonilla, a prisoner at the Clinton Correctional Facility (CCF),
filed a suit against CCF for failing to prevent an attack on him by two
other prisoners.

On 2-16-00, while Bonilla was housed at CCF's main institution, a prison
guard told him he was being transferred to the prison's Annex. Bonilla
refused to transfer because he had a problem with a prisoner who was
housed at the Annex. He was then placed on keep-lock confinement until a
superintendent's hearing on 2-22-00. Bonilla plead guilty at the hearing
and explained that he did not want to go to the Annex because he had
problems with a prisoner who was housed there and he feared for his
safety. The deputy superintendent told Bonilla that his concerns were
being reviewed by the deputy superintendent of security; however, he was
still transferred to the Annex the same day.

Bonilla was assaulted by two prisoners just one hour after arriving at the
Annex. He suffered a puncture wound to the back, a chipped tooth, and cuts
and abrasions as a result of the attack. The New York Court of Claims held
that liability may be imposed if the victim is known by the state to be at
risk, and the state nonetheless fails to protect him. The court awarded
Bonilla $750 for past pain and suffering. See: Alfredo Bonilla v. State of
New York, Claim No. 102568 (Court of Claims, Saratoga Springs, 6-25-02).

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Related legal case

Alfredo Bonilla v. State of New York