A prison inmate serving a life sentence for murder has sued prison officials in New Jersey, alleging they failed to give him soft food after a cyst was removed from the roof of his mouth.
The lawsuit was dismissed, but not because it lacked merit. The judge ruled the prisoner had failed to pursue his rights in the administrative review process, so his suit for alleged civil rights violations was premature.
The prisoner had been convicted after tapes of him committing the murder were played at his trial. The tapes were made by the victim while she was dying.
Source: Associated Press, “Convicted killer’s lawsuit against state prison officials dismissed,” December 26, 2011
Maureen Martin, a former legal fellow at The Heartland Institute, passed away on February 5, 2013.
