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Jury Awards Millions In Texas Inmate Beating Death Suit (September 21, 2006)--A Texas jury has returned a $47.5 verdict against a prison operator and its warden in a lawsuit over an inmate death. The family of Gregorio De La Rosa sued Wackenhut Corrections Corporation after De La Rosa was beaten to death four days before finishing his sentence. The amount awarded is believed to be the largest verdict in Willacy County history. It's unclear if the private prison operator will appeal. De La Rosa was serving a six-month sentence for a drug offense when he was killed in the prison yard on April 26, 2001. Officials say two other inmates pummeled De La Rosa with socks stuffed with padlocks. His family claimed the death was avoidable since inmates had used padlocks as weapons before. Two inmates were charged with murder, but pleaded guilty to lesser charges in return for 20-year sentences. The prison is now run by a Florida-based Wackenhut spinoff called The Geo Group.
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