Sunday, July 10, 2005

Lawsuit against Jasper County sheriff dismissed

A lawsuit against Jasper County Sheriff Archie Dunn was dismissed this week by U. S. District Court Judge Gary A. Fenner, but taxpayers will have to foot the entire bill for the action.
Fenner issued two rulings. One dismisses the case with prejudice, meaning that Sean Harris will not be able to refile his case. The other ruling gave Harris permission to proceed as a pauper, meaning he will not have to pay the $250 filing fee. If Harris decides to appeal the judge's ruling, he will have to pay that fee, Judge Fenner said.
Harris was seeking half a million dollars in damages from the sheriff, claiming that the Jasper County Jail was a hotbed of racism, something which he said was known to Dunn and his staff, but they did not do anything about it.
Harris said he had been attacked by "three racist white men," whose names he did not know, and had suffered injuries. He said he suffered racially motivated slurs every night.
Judge Fenner said the lawsuit was moot because Harris is no longer in the jail.

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