Family of strangled inmate sues state prisons department

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — The family of a man beaten and strangled by his prison cellmate have sued the state Corrections Department, saying the agency was negligent when it put both men in the same cell.
The family of Charles Martin also is suing several staff members of the Perry Correctional Institution and inmate Jeffrey Motts, who has been sentenced to death for killing Martin two years ago.
The federal lawsuit contends that both men had asked not to be put in the same cell and Motts had threatened to kill Martin if they were housed together. Motts thought Martin had lied about him, saying Motts had planted a knife in another inmate's bed, prosecutors said at Motts murder trial.
In its answer to the suit, the state Corrections Department denied wrongdoing, saying the agency "was acting in good faith" in the performance of its duties.
During Motts' trial, a national expert in prison management testified that the two should never have been placed in the same cell. James Aiken, who investigated Perry Correctional officials' handling of Motts and Martin, said prison officials should have known the danger but didn't conduct a thorough enough investigation.

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source: aikenstandard.com