Dead inmate’s mom sues sheriff

BANGOR – The mother of a man who committed suicide two years ago while being held at the Somerset County Jail has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in federal court against the sheriff and three corrections officers.

Joseph Hayes, 20, of Skowhegan was found on July 27, 2002, hanging from a bedsheet in a cellblock where he was the only prisoner. He had been held for two weeks in the Somerset County Jail in Skowhegan on a probation violation.

Mary Martin of Skowhegan filed the suit on Monday in U.S. District Court in Bangor. She is seeking $1 million in compensatory damages and an unspecified amount in punitive damages plus court costs and attorney fees.

The lawsuit claims that Somerset County Sheriff Barry DeLong and corrections officers John Davis, Frederick Hartley and Daniel Rivard violated the Constitution’s prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment.

The defendants have 20 days to respond to the lawsuit.

Hayes was under close watch or special management at the time of his death because he previously had attempted suicide at the jail, according to the complaint. The day Hayes died, “he became rowdy and threw something at the glass window between the control room and the holding cell.”

The lawsuit alleges that Davis had the window shade pulled down and was unable to watch Hayes by video monitor or through the window. The complaint also alleges that the customs and practices at the jail violated state law and resulted in “reckless and deliberate indifference to the safety and constitutional rights” of Hayes.

The complaint alleges that jail personnel under the sheriff’s supervision violated Hayes’ rights.