Family of San Quentin State Prison Inmate who Died of COVID-19 Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit
The Prison is Accused of Mishandling Transfer of Infected Inmates from Chino Prison
San Quentin, California – The family of an inmate who died at San Quentin State Prison after contracting coronavirus has filed a wrongful death claim against the facility.
The family of 61-year-old Daniel Ruiz claims the prison mishandled the transfer of infected prisoners leading to an outbreak in the facility. Ruiz is one of the 27 inmates and prison employees who succumbed to coronavirus-related complications.
On May 30th, San Quentin State Prison is alleged to have taken in 121 prisoners transferred from the California Institution for Men in Chino, which has become a COVID-19 hotspot.
On Thursday, September 10, the family’s legal team filed a legal claim as a precursor to a lawsuit against the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) accusing it of wrongful and unconstitutional death.
Ruiz, who had been convicted for a low-level drug offense and was eligible for early release due to good behavior, died on July 11. He was among the 40,000 inmates considered high-risk because of asthma and other underlying health issues.
“The folks in our prisons are human beings. Many who died at San Quentin had done nonviolent crimes and should have been coming back to their families soon,” attorney Michael Haddad told the media. “It is tragic and unacceptable that some prison bureaucrats treated them as less than human.”
As of Saturday last week, the CDCR had reported a total of 2,237 positive cases among the inmates. San Quentin State Prison had not reported any positive case prior to the transfer of the inmates.
