PHILADELPHIA — An inmate who suffered severe injuries in an alleged attack by a fellow inmate wielding a metal pipe has sued the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections and 10 correctional officers, alleging violation of his Fourteenth Amendment rights.
According to the suit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Scott Warrington was attacked with a metal pipe while an inmate at the State Correctional Institution (SCI) at Benner in April 2017.
The lawsuit states fellow inmate David Anthony Fry, who has an extensive criminal history of violent offenses, was transferred out of solitary confinement into the plaintiff's cell block. Fry allegedly was allowed to bring with him personal belongings, among which included a metal pipe, that he used to severely beat the plaintiff causing skull fractures and other injuries to his head, face and body.
As a result of the attack, Warrington has required "extensive medical treatment," and has suffered "emotional distress" and "cognitive impairment," according to the suit.
Warrington's lawsuit alleges guards allowed Fry to access the weapon used in the assault, witnessed the assault, and did not intervene in the assault. The lawsuit further alleges the Department of Corrections failed to "enforce or enact" procedures that would have prevented Fry from having a weapon.
The lawsuit also states that prior to the April 3, 2017, assault, Fry had made several previous threats of violence and stated he intended to commit acts of violence once he got out of solitary confinement. The threats were all said in the presence of the guards who took no action despite their supervisory duties, the lawsuit states.
In the case, the plaintiff is seeking compensatory damages and other relief as a result of the alleged violations against his Fourteenth Amendment rights.