Fifth Circuit Overturns District Court Ruling in Wrongful Death & Civil Rights Private Prison Death Case
“Justice is what love looks like in public.” (Cornel West).
When Erie Moore Jr. was beaten to death by prison guards in a camera-free hallway at a private Louisiana prison, a team of lawyers including Bailey Glasser partner Leslie Brueckner, then a Senior Attorney at Public Justice, fought for justice on his on behalf of his children by pursuing a forceful and passionate appeal of a federal district court ruling that dismissed civil rights claims and a wrongful death lawsuit against the actors who caused his unnecessary death. Last Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit overturned the district court’s ruling, finding that evidence exists that reflects Mr. Moore’s death was caused by the guards’ use of deadly force, including videotapes and testimony that reflected guards wanted to “beat him [to] death” and “finish him” and then withheld medical treatment. This decision ensures that Mr. Moore’s family will have the opportunity to present their case to a jury and hold the defendants accountable for the loss of their father.