A jury disagreed and awarded an inmate $1 compensatory damages and $1,250 punitive damages after a prison guard refused to let the inmate hug his wife during a prison visit in retaliation for his previous complaints against the guard.
CBS News reported, “In court filings, the Corrections Department argued it was ‘de minimis’ … and didn’t violate the couple’s constitutional rights. ‘It trivializes the First Amendment to allow such a minor occurrence to constitute an adverse action,’ Assistant Attorney General John Thurber said.” Read story here.
Photo: The cold stone walls of a heartless Michigan prison