A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by an inmate against two corrections officers in Colorado.
The inmate, Tyron Duante Small, had alleged that he was assaulted by other prisoners due to being placed in a cell with a gay inmate, and that the officers had violated his Eighth Amendment rights against cruel and unusual punishment.
However, Senior Judge William J. Martínez has upheld another judge's analysis and concluded that there was no constitutional violation in this case.
According to reports, Small was a member of a "security threat group" because of his affiliation with the Bloods gang. He claimed that it is known among security threat group members that they cannot be housed with gay cellmates, as it will put them in danger.
Small was residing at the Fremont Correctional Facility when he was allegedly attacked by a group of inmates. This led him to file a lawsuit against the officer who placed him in the cell, identified as "Sgt. Aragon," and another officer, "Sgt. Holland." Small sought $1 million in damages from each defendant.
However, the officers moved to dismiss the lawsuit, and Judge Kristen L. Mix, who presided over the case at the time, recommended granting their request. She noted that it was unclear what Small's claim for constitutional violation was.
The inmate argued that the officers knew his sexual orientation would make him a target for assault, but the judge pointed out that Small had not mentioned any serious injury in his claims. In fact, according to his own account, he was no longer in the cell at the time of the alleged assault.
Judge Martínez also agreed with the previous judge's analysis and dismissed the case.
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The judge stated that even if Small had informed Sgt. Aragon about the risk of harm, it was not clear that placing him in a cell with a gay inmate was a violation of his constitutional rights. Martínez concluded that there was no evidence to support Small's claims of a constitutional violation and threw out the lawsuit on Oct. 24.