Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA – The mother of a federal inmate who was killed in an attack will be able to sue the U.S. government, though a wrongful death claim has been tossed.
Judge Mia Roberts Perez, a Philadelphia federal judge, said Wednesday that the government was not put on sufficient notice that wrongful-death claims would be filed against it over the killing of Kevante Washington, who died after an alleged rape and assault by a fellow inmate in May 2023.
The government can’t hide behind immunity for claims stemming from its emergency-response time to finding Washington, Perez ruled, but an administrative claim submitted to the Bureau of Prisons failed to list wrongful death beneficiaries or any injury they suffered.
“A wrongful death beneficiary may be entitled to damages for their own losses,” Perez wrote. “Without identifying Washington’s children at all, the Claim Form did not put the Government on notice of their claims. The addition of individual children who would be entitled to their own damages separate from those recoverable under the Survival Act ‘alters factors materially affecting settlement, including valuation of the claim, investigation of the underlying events, and the applicable law.’”
But Survival Act claims proceed, as does a claim for negligence, though the government will be able to refile new arguments that would attempt to invoke immunity by showing Washington’s death was the result of prison staff following policies for which the government can’t be sued.
Washington was in the Special Housing Unit at the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia, where he was allegedly raped and killed by his cellmate Robert Smith, who has not been criminally charged.
An officer found Smith kneeling over Washington on the afternoon of May 10, 2023, allegations say. Washington was unconscious and bleeding from injuries to his face and head, and a lieutenant ordered hand restraints on both men.
It took 15 minutes until 911 was called, the plaintiff said, and three more minutes for CPR to begin. Washington had no pulse that could be detected, and he was transported to Jefferson University Hospital. He died the next day from his injuries, with signs of sexual assault trauma present, the plaintiff says.
His mother, Cynthia Santiago, is representing his estate in the case. She blames the government for his death because it failed to immediately call 911, delayed CPR and failed to conduct required security rounds, among other complaints.
The government would be protected from liability if its employees were carrying out discretionary functions. It says staff had discretion to make sure they were safe before dealing with medical emergencies and to wait for a lieutenant before opening a cell.
But a 2014 BOP policy requires a four-minute response time, and the government “has not shown its employees had discretion to perform the challenged actions as they did,” Perez wrote.
“The 4-minute response was mandatory and a medical practitioner and lieutenant had to be part of the responding team,” she added. “The Court cannot know what else, if anything, the 2014 BOP Policy required.
“Thus, the Government has failed to show its employees had discretion to, for example, wait to call 911 while Washington lay unconscious and bleeding for fifteen minutes after discovery or, more concerningly, for at least seven minutes after he was placed in hand restraints and any threat to officer safety was removed.”
