Individuals incarcerated at Central Prison have filed numerous lawsuits against the prison and its staff for civil, human, and constitutional rights violations since 1968. While new cases are still being presented, courts, and the public, seem to be more willing to hear the concerns being voiced from behind bars. With this foothold, incarcerated individuals have embraced the opportunity to improve prison conditions and secure prisoners’ rights.
Stinnett v. Bounds (1969)
John Stinnett (who was involved in the 1968 riot) sued the Department of Corrections, seeking the removal of several prison officials. Stinnett claimed that correctional officers denied him the privileges of exercise, fed him only two cold meals a day, and that he endured consistent harassment by the prison guards (in addition to being shot in the arm during the riot on April 16, 1968). The judge dismissed the case.
State of North Carolina v. Joan Little (1975)*
In 1974, Joan Little, a 20 year old black woman, was sexually assaulted by her white jailer. Little was serving a seven-year sentence for robbery at the Beaufort County Jail in Washington, North Carolina. Little reportedly attacked the man assaulting her, killing him, and ran from the jail. The case drew national attention and highlighted issues of racism, neglect, and mistreatment in North Carolina’s penal system. Little was ultimately acquitted of all charges. She was the first woman in the history of the United States to be acquitted using the defense that she had to use deadly force to resist the sexual assault.
Smith v. Bounds (1985)
In the early 1970s, Robert Smith filed suit against Vernon Bounds and Stanley Blackledge, the warden at Central Prison, challenging the adequacy of legal research facilities through the state’s Department of Corrections. Lower courts ruled in favor of Smith and ordered the state to develop a plan to address the issue.
In 1985, after the state failed to comply for over a decade, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the state of North Carolina had “proven itself unable or unwilling to ensure that its law libraries are constitutionally adequate to meet its inmates’ needs.” The Supreme Court also mandated that the state guarantee incarcerated individuals “meaningful access to the courts.”
Williams v. North Carolina Department of Corrections (1995)
Michael Williams, who was stabbed by another prisoner while incarcerated at Central Prison, sued the North Carolina Department of Corrections (NCDOC) in 1995. Williams alleged negligence on behalf of the prison’s staff, arguing that the officer on duty at the time failed to follow the proper procedures that would prevent incarcerated men from coming into contact with one another. The NCDOC withheld from discovery a memorandum which specifically instructed officers to keep inmates from Williams’ cellblock separated at all times. Williams successfully proved negligence on behalf of the NCDOC, but the court did not allow him to recover damages due to his own “contributory negligence” (this being that Williams was allegedly informed by another inmate in advance that someone was waiting to attack him).
*While this case did not involve Central Prison, it is evidence of the systemic issues that exist throughout the entire North Carolina Penal System.
Central Prison Riot, Raleigh, NC- 1968 