Lawsuit Filed in Prison Death of Illegal Immigrant

Washington Post: Family members of an illegal immigrant found dead in a federal prison filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the Texas facility, where inmates took hostages and set fires during a riot after the man's body was carried out. The 96-page federal lawsuit revives attention on the Reeves County Detention Center in Pecos, about 175 miles east of El Paso. The prison came under scrutiny in 2008, following the death of Jesus Manuel Galindo and two riots just six weeks apart that caused an estimated $1 million in damage. Galindo died in December 2008 after the 32-year-old had an epileptic seizure while placed in solitary confinement, his family's attorneys said. The lawsuit accuses the facility of being indifferent to prisoners' medical needs and using solitary confinement to punish inmates who complained of being sick. The defendants named in the lawsuit include Reeves County and the Geo Group Inc., which runs the prison. Geo Group is the nation's second-largest private prison contractor and operates 14 prisons in Texas. "They bear legal and moral responsibility for this preventable death," said Lisa Graybill, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, which is helping the family with the suit. Pablo Paez, a spokesman for the Geo Group, said the company couldn't comment on pending litigation. Phone calls to the county attorney's office in Reeves County went unanswered.