By C1 Staff
MILTON, Fla. — A paralyzed inmate who was denied the use of a wheelchair and faced retaliation for suing the Department of Corrections has reached a settlement with the agency.
North Escambia reports that Richard Jackson was prevented by the Santa Rosa Correctional Institution for more than a year from using a wheelchair in his cell.
Instead, Jackson claims he was forced to crawl on his hands and knees to get to his bunk, or to use the toilet or sink.
A year after he filed a lawsuit against the prison, he was transferred to the Northwest Florida Reception Center where officers and others allegedly retaliated against him for failing to drop the case.
Within hours after arriving at the prison, he was handcuffed to his wheelchair and repeatedly punched in the face and kicked while being threatened that “he would be getting more if he did not drop the lawsuit.”
The settlement requires the DOC to pay $97,000 for Jackson’s legal fees and damages, and also requires that he be allowed to use his wheelchair.