DOVER, Del. (AP) - Attorneys for state prison officials are asking a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the parents of an inmate who hanged himself.
The parents of Blaise DeJesus claim prison workers acted with deliberate indifference toward him while he was awaiting placement in a substance abuse program in 2014. Specifically, the lawsuit alleges that prison workers failed to properly check on DeJesus after he begged them not to put him in a cell by himself because he was suffering from withdrawal symptoms and was concerned he may hurt himself.
He later hanged himself.
In court papers filed this week, attorneys for the prison workers say they are entitled to qualified immunity because their alleged conduct did not violate a clearly established right.
