PHILADELPHIA – The estate of a Philadelphia man who died while an inmate of a city-owned correctional facility has filed a wrongful death lawsuit.
The Estate of Sterling Cole, through his son Malik Cole, filed a complaint in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas against City of Philadelphia, Philadelphia Prison System, Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility and several individuals alleging wrongful death and other counts.
According to the complaint, on April 4, 2017, Sterling Cole was severely assaulted by other inmates while at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility and died April 16, 2017. The suit states the attack occurred in an unsecured area of the prison recreational yard without any security monitoring.
The plaintiff alleges the decedent's death was a result of the defendants' operation of the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility in deliberate indifference and unreasonable risk to inmate safety.
The plaintiff is seeking compensatory damages, attorney fees and court costs. The plaintiff is represented by Piayon Lassanah of Philadelphia.
The case was removed to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania by the defendants on Aug. 29.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania case number 2:19-CV-03924