Tuesday, July 24, 2018

FORMER WARDEN WINS LAWSUIT

by Bob Walsh

A federal jury determined on Thursday that Lawrence Parsons, formerly the warden of Lanesboro Correctional Institution in North Carolina, is NOT responsible for life-threatening conditions in the prison he ran.

He was sued by convicted double killer Stacey Wynn, alleging that Parsons should be held accountable for injuries Wynn suffered at the hands of another inmate. This is the first of a series of five lawsuits asserting that Parsons was indifferent to the inmate on inmate and even staff on inmate violence in the facility.

Much of the focus of the lawsuits is on Jeffrey Wall, who was the head of the Union Unit at that facility. Wall allegedly favored the Bloods at the prison and had policies and procedures that allowed them great freedom of movement within his part of the facility. It was claimed that the 'gang culture" had infiltrated management and supervisory staff at the facility.

Walls was fired in 2013 after he tried to force his way into the facility, allegedly to retrieve weapons and videos hidden in the ceiling of his office. He did this AFTER he was barred from prison grounds. Parsons retired after 30 years in 2016.

The prison was so dysfunctional that it is being closed down and repurposed as a women's facility.

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