The lawsuit, filed late last week by Tina Green, the niece of 55-year-old Terry Fisher, of Wheelwright, names Floyd County, Jailer Roger Webb and three unnamed jail employees as defendants.
On Aug. 10, 2008, Fisher was reportedly found near death in the cell after allegedly being assaulted by upwards of 10 other inmates.
According to statements at the time by Det. Steve Little, with the Prestonsburg Police Department, Fisher was allegedly subjected to the beatings over the course of three days.
Fisher had pleaded guilty before being detained at the detention center to abusing a minor.
In the federal suit filed in U.S. District Court in Pikeville, Green says her uncle “suffered broken ribs, a broken back, fractures of his skull and facial bones, and other injuries too numerous to mention,” adding that when he was later taken to the hospital, where he was placed on a ventilator, he had a shoeprint on the side of his head and was “in a near-vegetative state.”
Floyd County Commonwealth’s Attorney Brent Turner later called for indictments on charges of assault against nine inmates – Kevin L Woods, 22, of Allen; Stephen Jervis, 47, of Endicott; Michael A Rowland, 30, of Stanton; Christopher N. Newsome, 35, of Harold; Matthew Lee Richie, 25, Willisburg; Ivan Gunnels, 28, of Eastern; David Johnson, 41, of Wayland; Ronald Spurlock, 30, of Waverly, Ohio.; Keith Joseph Paige, 29, of McDowell.
The lawsuit asserts that “reasonable discovery will show that Mr. Fisher’s treatment by the Defendants was the result of policies, customs and practices of Floyd County, either written or unwritten,” adding that these were the “moving force” behind his injuries.
In addition, those representing Fisher say that since the charges for which he was being held “exposed him to a substantial risk of serious harm” from fellow inmates, he was placed in a communal cell with a number of other inmates “who then somehow became aware of the charge” for which Fisher had pleaded guilty.
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