UPDATE July 21, 2014: SETTLED for $2.75 million. The New York Times reports:
"New York City has agreed to pay $2.75 million to settle a lawsuit stemming from the December 2012 death of a prisoner at Rikers Island after he suffered what the city medical examiner’s office concluded was “blunt force trauma” to the head. The inmate, Ronald Spear, 52, had kidney problems and walked with a cane, according to the lawsuit. The medical examiner’s office ruled that the manner of death was homicide." Read the article http://marylovesjustice.blogspot.com/2013/04/murdering-disabled-rikers-island.html
No amount of money can make a family "whole" after the wrongful death of a member. It is too late for justice after a disabled family member has been brutally killed behind bars. All families can do is seek monetary damages for the pain and suffering their loved ones endured and they experience while grieving. We must encourage change by exacting punitive damages against the prison industrial complex. Significant payouts might motivate corrections officers and police officers to respect the human rights of prisoners. Read about the Spear settlement in a New York Times report at this link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/21/nyregion/new-york-city-to-pay-2-75-million-to-settle-suit-in-death-of-rikers-island-inmate.html
Our condolences once again to Ronald Spear's family. Congratulations on your persistence in pursuit of restitution. Your tenacity may help to save other prisoners at Riker's Island and throughout America.
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Mary Neal, director
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