Murdered Inmate’s Family Awarded $47.5 M for Wrongful Death

A prison operator and warden were ordered to pay $47.5 million in compensation to the family of an inmate who was beaten to death with a padlock by other prisoners four days prior to completing his sentence for drug charges.

“The evidence was disturbing. It showed a failure to properly search, inadequate staffing, and improper response,” said the family’s attorney Ron Rodriquez.

In 2001, Gregorio De La Rosa was serving six months in prison when two fellow inmates attacked him before his release. They had stuffed padlocks into socks and snuck them out into the prison yard.

According to De La Rosa’s family, his death could have been avoided if it were not for the negligence of prison guards. The suit claims that inmates had utilized padlocks as weapons in the past, so it was probable that it would happen again.

Daniel Sanchez and Pedro de Jesus Equia—the prisoners accused in De La Rosa’s murder—were charged with his death and sentenced to 20 years.