COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – A federal jury in the Western District of Michigan has rejected a civil rights lawsuit against two retired employees of the Lakeland Correctional Facility , concluding a three-day trial.
The inmate plaintiff, Willie Rose , had alleged that former Resident Unit Manager Jon Houtz and Assistant Deputy Warden Shawnda Cope retaliated against him for filing grievances by issuing false misconduct tickets and labeling him a “rat” to other prisoners. Rose further claimed the staff interfered with his legal mail and engineered his placement in segregation in 2019.
The jury ultimately sided with the defense, represented by the Michigan Attorney General’s office, finding that the staff acted within Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) policy and that no constitutional violations occurred.
Defense attorneys successfully argued that Rose suffered no actual harm and had been moved for his own safety after reporting fears for his well-being.
U.S. District Judge Paul L. Maloney also dismissed a claim for punitive damages during the trial, effectively ending the litigation that began with Rose’s handwritten complaint in 2022
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