Nesmuth
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/04/AR2005080401340.html
By Carol D. Leonnig
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 4, 2005; 5:06 PM
Joseph Heard will receive between $1.2 million and $1.5 million from the District government and a private jail contractor as compensation for being wrongly imprisoned in the D.C. Jail for nearly two years, under an agreement approved by a federal judge today.
The District publicly agreed to pay $1.1 million directly to Heard to settle his three-year-old lawsuit and also agreed to pay reasonable fees for Heard's law firm. A private contractor that provided medical services in the jail, the Center for Correctional Health and Policy Studies, has agreed to pay several hundred thousand dollars -- the exact figure was not immediately available -- for its role in monitoring Heard, according to sources close to the case. A portion of the medical contractor's payment could go to pay for additional attorney fees.
The settlement ends what the District's deputy mayor called "a real tragedy" when The Washington Post first uncovered Joseph Heard's ordeal in 2001. Heard, deaf and unable to speak, was ordered released from St. Elizabeth's Hospital in October 1999 by a D.C. Superior Court judge -- but mistakenly sent to the D.C. Jail instead. There he stayed for 22 months -- until August 12, 2001 -- when jail officials reviewing case files of inmates in the mental health unit wondered why they could not locate any of Heard's records.
Throughout his months behind bars, Heard, who also has a mental disability, had scrawled the word "Innocent" on scraps of paper and tried to communicate through another inmate that his jailing was a big mistake. But guards and mental health staff ignored his pleas, according to Heard and several witnesses in the case.
Heard, now 45, lives in Florida with his sister, a nurse, and sporadically wanders the streets. He has chosen not to return to Washington -- except when necessary for a meeting with his lawyer -- because of his bad feelings about his time in the D.C. Jail. His lawyers said they wish they could have settled the case months ago and avoided some of the $1 million in legal fees they say they incurred representing Heard. The District contests that fee amount, and the court is expected to settle the dispute and decide the appropriate fee.
"They locked him up illegally and unconstitutionally for 2 years," said John Moustakas, Heard's lead attorney. "It's an obvious case of false imprisonment and violation of his civil rights. But still, the District fought us and played around with us for two years."
The city not only used the resources of its own staff, it also must pay for Heard's lawyers and for lawyers representing several D.C. jail employees who were personally sued.
D.C. Attorney General Robert J. Spagnoletti said in a statement that he regretted what had happened to Heard, but the city also has a duty to protect itself and city taxpayers.
"No amount of money can compensate a person for their loss of liberty for any period of time, especially the 22 months endured by Mr. Heard," he said. "However, even in cases in which the District acknowledges its error at an earlier stage of the litigation, I must still defend against lawsuits and claims until a reasonable settlement demand is made that will fairly compensate the plaintiff and is in the best interests of the District of Columbia."
Heard's attorneys said he doesn't really appreciate the vast difference between $1,000 and $100,000, so the money from the settlement will be placed in a special trust that helps him buy a house and pay utilities, and also gives him a little spending money for fun and travel.
"Joseph is a very sweet, very naive, very sensitive man whose sister reports could be easily swindled out of his money," Moustakas said.
U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, who approved the settlement, said her primary concern was making sure the money was protected from being squandered, but also was quickly made available to help Heard improve his life.
"The focus is to have him have a comfortable life," she said. "I do want to make sure he's not back on the streets while this money should be on its on its way to him."
Richard
By Carol D. Leonnig
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 4, 2005; 5:06 PM
Joseph Heard will receive between $1.2 million and $1.5 million from the District government and a private jail contractor as compensation for being wrongly imprisoned in the D.C. Jail for nearly two years, under an agreement approved by a federal judge today.
The District publicly agreed to pay $1.1 million directly to Heard to settle his three-year-old lawsuit and also agreed to pay reasonable fees for Heard's law firm. A private contractor that provided medical services in the jail, the Center for Correctional Health and Policy Studies, has agreed to pay several hundred thousand dollars -- the exact figure was not immediately available -- for its role in monitoring Heard, according to sources close to the case. A portion of the medical contractor's payment could go to pay for additional attorney fees.
The settlement ends what the District's deputy mayor called "a real tragedy" when The Washington Post first uncovered Joseph Heard's ordeal in 2001. Heard, deaf and unable to speak, was ordered released from St. Elizabeth's Hospital in October 1999 by a D.C. Superior Court judge -- but mistakenly sent to the D.C. Jail instead. There he stayed for 22 months -- until August 12, 2001 -- when jail officials reviewing case files of inmates in the mental health unit wondered why they could not locate any of Heard's records.
Throughout his months behind bars, Heard, who also has a mental disability, had scrawled the word "Innocent" on scraps of paper and tried to communicate through another inmate that his jailing was a big mistake. But guards and mental health staff ignored his pleas, according to Heard and several witnesses in the case.
Heard, now 45, lives in Florida with his sister, a nurse, and sporadically wanders the streets. He has chosen not to return to Washington -- except when necessary for a meeting with his lawyer -- because of his bad feelings about his time in the D.C. Jail. His lawyers said they wish they could have settled the case months ago and avoided some of the $1 million in legal fees they say they incurred representing Heard. The District contests that fee amount, and the court is expected to settle the dispute and decide the appropriate fee.
"They locked him up illegally and unconstitutionally for 2 years," said John Moustakas, Heard's lead attorney. "It's an obvious case of false imprisonment and violation of his civil rights. But still, the District fought us and played around with us for two years."
The city not only used the resources of its own staff, it also must pay for Heard's lawyers and for lawyers representing several D.C. jail employees who were personally sued.
D.C. Attorney General Robert J. Spagnoletti said in a statement that he regretted what had happened to Heard, but the city also has a duty to protect itself and city taxpayers.
"No amount of money can compensate a person for their loss of liberty for any period of time, especially the 22 months endured by Mr. Heard," he said. "However, even in cases in which the District acknowledges its error at an earlier stage of the litigation, I must still defend against lawsuits and claims until a reasonable settlement demand is made that will fairly compensate the plaintiff and is in the best interests of the District of Columbia."
Heard's attorneys said he doesn't really appreciate the vast difference between $1,000 and $100,000, so the money from the settlement will be placed in a special trust that helps him buy a house and pay utilities, and also gives him a little spending money for fun and travel.
"Joseph is a very sweet, very naive, very sensitive man whose sister reports could be easily swindled out of his money," Moustakas said.
U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, who approved the settlement, said her primary concern was making sure the money was protected from being squandered, but also was quickly made available to help Heard improve his life.
"The focus is to have him have a comfortable life," she said. "I do want to make sure he's not back on the streets while this money should be on its on its way to him."
Richard
AMEN!!!!! my friend
Neither did my dad, mom, my husband and foster son, and the millions of others deserve to go deaf, but, they are, and they are learning to live with it, and very proud of it. It is not a bad thing to be deaf. At least you have your eyesight.
So that means that God lost a bundle gambling on your creativity and then putting you on this earth, Raven?