Summary: Two prisoner civil rights lawsuits have been filed against Macomb County Jail in the U.S. District Court in Detroit.
Macomb County Jail could be facing two lawsuits. The first lawsuit was filed by a well-known attorney for the mother of an inmate that was beaten to death by his cellmate in the jail. The other lawsuit is from a group of inmates that are claiming mistreatment while in the mental health ward.
The first lawsuit is seeking over $75,000 and the second lawsuit is seeking $10 million. Ryan Hagerman, 34, died from the injuries he sustained after being beaten by 17-year-old Mark Cowans. The reason for the attack is unknown, but the entire thing was caught on video.
The second lawsuit was handwritten by five inmates, including Cowans, who was sentenced 30-60 years for the attack and was the first juvenile to be convicted of first-degree murder in Macomb County that was sentenced to years instead of life without parole. Weeks before he had been sentenced, Cowans and four other inmates filed the lawsuit. One of the inmates includes Timothy Fradeneck. He was accused of killing his wife, 8-year-old son, and 2-year-old daughter by strangling them with a USB cable.
Their lawsuit names the Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Anthony Wickersham, and a deputy as the specific abusers. The note accuses them of threatening, harassing, and making fun of them when they were in the mental health ward. Some of their allegations include feeding them bologna sandwiches and apples for their meal as punishment, claiming the telephone system is over-priced, leaving bright lights on at all hours, and many more complaints.
Photo: ctwphc.org