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BOP Pays $340,000 in SHU Cellmate Assault

The federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) agreed to a $340,000 settlement in a lawsuit brought by a prisoner who was assaulted upon being moved into a Special Housing Unit (SHU) cell.

Prisoner Brendan Reilly was incarcerated at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, now known as FCI-Miami, on June 30, 1993, when prison officials decided to move him into an SHU cell with prisoner David Vaughn Jobson, a/k/a Robert Smith.

Reilly alleged prison officials knew Jobson “was violent, dangerous, and unmanageable,” and that he “would react violently.”  Yet, despite other cells being empty, they “intentionally placed” Reilly in the cell with Jobson.

When Reilly was placed in the cell, Jobson’s handcuffs were removed first.  “Thereafter, Jobson immediately attacked Reilly, whose hands were still cuffed behind him, and severely beat him over the head and body, causing injuries.”

Reilly filed a Bivens action and was represented by attorneys Arturo V. Hernandez and Rhonda A. Anderson.  BOP agreed to the $340,000 settlement on October 2, 1997.  See:  Reilly v. Fitzpatrick, USDC, S.D. Florida, Case No 97-0162.

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Related legal case

Reilly v. Fitzpatrick