DEL.ICIO.USUpdated: 4:08 p.m. August 26, 2008
Deputy’s lawsuit over Brian Nichols’ escape thrown out
Cynthia Hall, who suffered a fractured skull, had sued Fulton sheriff’s department
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
The federal appeals court in Atlanta on Tuesday threw out a lawsuit filed by Cynthia Hall, the deputy overpowered by Brian Nichols before his 2005 rampage at the Fulton County courthouse.
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Hall failed to state a proper claim in her lawsuit against Sheriff Myron Freeman and other sheriff’s officials.
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On March 11, 2005, Nichols, on trial for raping a former girlfriend, disarmed and beat Hall after she entered a courthouse holding cell to escort him to court. The beating left Hall with a fractured skull and permanently brain damaged.
Nichols is charged with that attack and killing Judge Rowland Barnes and three others. His capital murder trial is scheduled to begin Sept. 22. Nichols has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
In a federal lawsuit filed last year, Hall said her injuries were caused by a lapse in courthouse security. She said top sheriff’s officials knew Nichols was a dangerous inmate and were deliberately indifferent.
But the 11th Circuit said that Hall’s complaint did not describe acts by sheriff’s officials that were so egregious to “shock the conscience” or cause excessive risk to Hall’s safety.
Hall’s lawyer, Brandon Hornsby, said he was not surprised by the decision.
“The 11th Circuit is one of the most conservative federal courts when it comes to constitutional claims,” he said. “We’re looking forward to our day before the U.S. Supreme Court….If this case doesn’t shock the conscience, nothing will.”
Hall has filed a separate lawsuit in DeKalb County State Court against Freeman, who recently lost re-election, and other sheriff’s officials, Hornsby noted.
Fulton County recently agreed to a $5.2 million settlement with Claudia Barnes, the judge’s widow who filed a claim against the county over her husband’s death and another involving benefits she sought as a former county employee.
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