Attorney General Beau Biden’s office is going to court to silence one of Delaware’s most-vocal and most-respected prison critics at 10 a.m. Friday in Kent County Superior Court in Dover, in front of the Honorable President Judge James T. Vaughn Jr.
Biden’s office does not want the public viewing video evidence of inmate abuse by staff at the Sussex Correctional Institute – evidence that can be viewed by the public here.
A motion filed last month by Deputy Attorney General Marc P. Niedzielski asks Judge Vaughn to grant a protection order in the case: Kevin Moore v. Sgt. Matthew Long.
Moore, a former inmate at SCI, is suing Long, a correction sergeant, for injuries he alleges were caused by a kick to his ankle.
Moore alleges he entered prison immediately following surgery to his ankle. The video shows Long apparently kicking Moore’s leg – a blow that Moore says further aggravated the injured limb, which required additional surgeries.
Niedzielski’s motion came after he saw the video on the Caesar Rodney Institute’s website as part of its ongoing series “Rogue Force,” which revealed inmate abuse by staff at SCI.
Dover attorney Steven Hampton represents the inmate.
Hampton is one of the few attorneys willing to accept inmate cases, and he has never hesitated to speak out about the shoddy medical care plaguing the state’s prisons.
Tomorrow, Hampton will argue against the state’s motion. He will tell the court why it is important for the public to be informed about the horrific conditions behind the wire that the state would like to conceal.
In his motion, Niedzielski asks the judge to order Hampton to have the Caesar Rodney Institute remove the video, even though Hampton is not affiliated with CRI.
It’s not the first time Biden’s office has attempted to stop Hampton from talking about the horrible conditions within Delaware’s prisons.
Last week, Deputy Attorney General Michael McTaggart tried to silence Hampton by seeking a confidentiality order in a different case, in front of a different judge.
After the Caesar Rodney Institute published a story that revealed McTaggart’s attempt, the AG’s office quickly announced they were withdrawing the motion, which was viewed as an unprecedented legal maneuver for a case of this type.
Hampton believes Niedzielski’s motion is a similar attempt to silence him from criticizing the DOC’s shoddy inmate health care, or the skyrocketing rate inmates are dying from preventable illnesses.
Biden did not immediately return calls seeking comment for this story.
If tomorrow’s hearing is cancelled or continued, the Caesar Rodney Institute will update the public immediately.
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