Maybe you’d prefer Sona, then
By Thoreau
Not news: Prisoner breaks out of jail, later caught.
News: Prisoner makes second escape attempt.
Blogworthy: He’s suing the jail because he hurt himself during the second escape attempt, and he thinks they should have made it harder for him to escape his cell and reach the roof, from which he fell while trying to climb down a makeshift ladder.
Interestingly, he alleges abuse by guards but doesn’t sue over that. If he had, I’d be a lot more sympathetic. He might want to consider the implications of suing a jail because it’s too easy to escape. I doubt the other inmates will be thrilled if the authorities take the steps that he’s calling for.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that we’re reading about this the day before Prison Break returns to TV.
Comment by SomeCallMeTim —
January 13, 2008 @ 4:34 pm
How great would it be if Fox paid prisoners to try to break out of jail as a PR stunt? Pretty great, that’s how great.
Comment by Thoreau —
January 13, 2008 @ 4:37 pm
With the writers on strike, I’d say that the guy sometimes called “Tim” has a gig awaiting him in the Reality Show division of Fox….
Comment by Dave W. —
January 13, 2008 @ 5:59 pm
Here is how it works:
You get abused in prison, in numerous and myriad ways, the worst of which involving your anal tissue. This makes you a desparate man. You file a lawsuit claiming that John Law should have protected your anal tissue better. This suit goes nowhere and is indeed not even deemed blogworthy by the physics professors of the blogosphere. So you try to escape to avoid the nightly anal rape you are suffering by dint of a desparate plan involving rapelling down bedsheets. This, sadly also, is not deemed blogworthy by anybody. So you hope to talk to another judge anywhichway you can. You file a frivolous lawsuit just hoping that the judge will see the equities of your situation and find some way to show you the mercy your AIDS-ridden body so richly deserves at this point. Of course, he won’t, but you have to try even if it means presenting a novel theory of trespasser liability just to get her or his attention. Given the rapes, it is understandable that you try, even though it means doing the dreaded evil of filing a frivolous suit in court. Desperate men, as it were, do desperate things. Of course, the legal system disposes of the frivolous suit despite the larger equities involved, because, hey, what are you gonna do? Let every violated prisoner back on the streets?
Then lil T. comes out of the woodwork, at last, to tell us what a sham and a shame this is that such a tort complaint could even be filed. The commonlaw must be broken! Uhhhh, yeah, sure.
Comment by Thoreau —
January 13, 2008 @ 6:17 pm
I would respond to you, Dave, but I’m posting from Lechero’s cell phone, and he’s going to be back any second.
What’s that noise? Sounds like a helicopter. Hey, where did Scofield go?
Comment by Dave W. —
January 13, 2008 @ 6:18 pm
Oh that’s right. Prison rape is a conspiracy theory. Sometimes I forget how many of the things I believe are.
Comment by Thoreau —
January 13, 2008 @ 7:55 pm
You’re reading way too much into my post here, Dave, and I suggest that you….
Hey, what’s Lincoln Burroughs doing here? I thought he was acquitted!
Comment by Thoreau —
January 13, 2008 @ 7:57 pm
Show of hands here: How many people think I’m an apologist for prison rape?
Comment by Dave W. —
January 13, 2008 @ 9:23 pm
I don’t think that you are an apologist for prison rape. I just think you are focussing on the wrong aspects of this story, A. Like when Mr. Henley, fails to focus on the Navy’s bogus audio. Not wrong, just problematic misdirection.
Comment by Thoreau —
January 13, 2008 @ 9:48 pm
Not wrong, just problematic misdirection.
Exactly! Misdirection. The EMP will disable the guard’s TV, diverting his attention while we make for the hole in the fence. We’ll go through the hole in the fence and run toward the beach, where we’ll meet up with Lincoln and then do the hand-over to The Company.
What could possibly go wrong?
Comment by Dave W. —
January 13, 2008 @ 9:54 pm
Bottom hurts.
Comment by Thoreau —
January 13, 2008 @ 9:56 pm
Dave, they killed Sara and they’re going to kill LJ. Don’t you get it?
Comment by Dave W. —
January 13, 2008 @ 9:58 pm
I think u r referencing teevee, but, 4 the most part, I don’t watch teevee. I am more of a songwriter. Have you ever heard my music? Its free!
Comment by Timothy —
January 13, 2008 @ 11:39 pm
And worth every penny!
I will never feed you buttered waffles you moronic baboon, now DANCE HARDER MONKEY!*
Comment by Dave W. —
January 14, 2008 @ 8:32 am
Or, let’s say there is no rape here. Maybe the guy is trying so hard to get out, and now bringing this frivolous suit because he is innocent. So he brings an attention grabbing frivolous suit in the hope that some judge or reporter or blogger will talk to him about his case.
Comment by Minion of URKOBOLD —
January 14, 2008 @ 10:36 am
HE IS NOT INNOCENT, SILLY MORTAL.
THERE IS NO CONFLICT.
THERE IS NO DANA. ONLY ZUUL.
YOU UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF THE DARK SIDE.
I FIND YOUR LACK OF FAITH DISTURBING.
Comment by Dave W. —
January 14, 2008 @ 11:31 am
I guess what I am saying is that as “frivolous” suits go, this one probably has a better underlying reason than most — maybe it is even totally justifiable in some kind of moral sense (altho I know Hexxie scoffs at natural law).
Comment by Thoreau —
January 14, 2008 @ 1:33 pm
I guess what I’m saying is that the guy who sues to make the prison harder to escape is just begging for punishment from the other inmates.
Unless it’s Michael Scofield. Then it’s just All Part Of The Plan that he’s got in his tattoos. See, when they reinforce the ceiling, that makes it strong enough to bear the weight of the device that he’s assembling….
Comment by Thoreau —
January 14, 2008 @ 1:33 pm
Shorter version: Crazy guys don’t merit serious responses. They merit TV references.
Comment by Hogan —
January 14, 2008 @ 1:46 pm
Laundry truck = attractive nuisance?
Comment by Dave W. —
January 14, 2008 @ 3:46 pm
I guess what I’m saying is that the guy who sues to make the prison harder to escape is just begging for punishment from the other inmates.
I don’t think they would see it that way. they probably would just think it is a cool thing to harrass the jailers with any means possible. If they have the Internet and UO is not filtered from access, then they probably cheered at the part of this entry where you sed that he sed the guards were mean. They probably don’t care whether that goes in the criminal complaint or not. They probably consider a victory any time somebody gets the word out there, as this guy did thru his frivolous suit.
If this guy is using his frivolous suit to bring attention to his underlying case (by hook or by crook), then the other inmates probably understand that, too.
On a semi-related note, there was a big prison rape case (”Roderick Johnson” IIRC) around 2004-05. This thd made me remember that I never heard how that case ended up. Does anybody know?
Comment by lemuel pitkin —
January 14, 2008 @ 10:17 pm
The US has over 2 million people in prison, the vast majority for non-violent crimes. Fewer than one percent of them received a trial by jury. Former prisoners ware routinely denied basic civil and political rights, and as for conditions in prison, the less said, the better… And then there’s the million-plus not currently in prison, but under the “supervision” of the criminal justice system through probation, parole, etc., whose every life decision is under the control of a capricious bureaucracy. All in all, about as pure an anitithesis of liberty as one can find in the modern world.
Now personally, I’d think the response of a “libertarian” to all this would be something other than mocking the prisoners. But then I’ve never claimed to understand y’all think.
Comment by Avram —
January 14, 2008 @ 11:45 pm
Fewer than one percent of them received a trial by jury.
Wait, WTF? Seriously?
How does that happen? Plea bargains?
Comment by lemuel pitkin —
January 15, 2008 @ 12:27 am
Avram,
That’s right. An example: I met an Assistant DA from central California over the holidays. He said that out of the 1,000-odd criminal cases he’d handled since he’d been there, fewer than 10 had gone to trial, with two acquittals. I don’t think that’s atypical.
Comment by lemuel pitkin —
January 15, 2008 @ 12:31 am
Oops, I apologize. It appears that nationally, a full two percent of felony convictions are by jury. So I guess you can all go back to making fun of stupid prisoners and laughing at Dave W.’s rape jokes.
Comment by Thoreau —
January 15, 2008 @ 1:00 am
lemuel-
Actually, most of us here are staunchly opposed to the drug war, the driver of so much that’s wrong in our criminal justice system. It is possible, however, to recognize and oppose injustice but still laugh at strange situations.
I’d say that suing the jail because it was easy to escape is kind of strange.
Comment by lemuel pitkin —
January 15, 2008 @ 2:19 pm
“Actually, most of us here are staunchly opposed to the drug war, the driver of so much that’s wrong in our criminal justice system.”
Of course you are. As for all those other millions of kids serving long sentences for minor property crimes that it would never occur to a middle-class professional to commit, well, their liberty isn’t a concern for libertarians, I guess.
Also from the article:
“Gomez filed suit after officials asked the court to order Gomez to pay back $64,000 in medical expenses.”
Ha ha, stupid prisoner, don’t you know that frivolous lawsuits are only for the State!