The Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project has filed a lawsuit against the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) alleging that corrections officers at the United States Penitentiary (USP) Canaan brutally assaulted an incarcerated man with known epilepsy while he had a seizure. The lawsuit alleges the officers kept the nearly naked man in restraints for about 40 hours, without food or water and lying in his own waste.
The plaintiff, Mr. Lawayne Natt is suing under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) for assault and battery, negligence, and medical negligence.
Mr. Natt experienced a severe seizure while incarcerated at USP Canaan. Epilepsy causes Mr. Natt to frequently become disoriented and experience temporary paralysis in his limbs following a seizure. Within 30 minutes of being carried unconscious from his cell, and while still recovering from this seizure, Mr. Natt was unable to comply with an order to stand. Instead of providing necessary medical aid, BOP staff are accused of retaliating with a savage display of force and cruelty. Staff beat and sexually abused Mr. Natt before stripping him, resulting in the filing of claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) for assault and battery.
LEGAL DOCUMENTS
Natt Complaint (pdf)