The Assoicated Press
MADISON, Wis. — A Wisconsin prison inmate who was awarded $295,000 in damages for having to sleep on a wet mattress is settling for a tenth of that amount.
U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb last month wiped out the previous settlement between Reggie Townsend and the state as excessive. Crabb said Townsend could either accept $29,500 in damages or go to trial over the amount.
Townsend accepted the $29,500 in a recently signed settlement.
The 29-year-old Townsend, of Milwaukee, is serving a 23-year sentence for first-degree reckless homicide.
He alleged his wet prison mattress was not replaced despite his complaints that it became moldy and stinky.
A federal grand jury awarded him $295,000 but the state appealed, leading to Crabb’s decision.