CLARKSBURG – An inmate at the Federal Correctional Institution - Hazelton alleges he suffered mental and emotional distress due to being placed in solitary confinement for an extended period of time.
Robert Palermo filed a complaint Jan. 16 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia against United States Marshals, United States of America and attorney Paul J. Vacca Jr. alleging negligence and violation of the Fifth, Eighth and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges while he was housed at Corporate Corrections of America for 21 months, he was locked in a cell for 23 hours a day, not allowed to make phone calls or receive visits. He alleges he was unable to get legal representation because his lawyer was in New York and that his lawyer did not visit him once during this time.
He alleges suffered pain and suffering, mental and emotional distress.
The plaintiff holds United States Marshals, United States of America and Vacca Jr. responsible because he was allegedly placed in long-term solitary confinement without hearing or review and the defendants violated his right to be free of cruel and unusual punishment.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks compensatory and punitive damages and costs of this action. He is representing himself.
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia case number 5:18-cv-00007
