By Rupert Howell

Panola County government along with interim Sheriff Otis Griffin and Jail Administrator Bobby Meek have been named defendants in a suit alleging indifference to the safety and well being of former inmate Walter Dear while he was incarcerated in the Panola County Detention Center for alleged probation violation last March.

Dear had previously been convicted for burglary of a dwelling.

Ironically, news of the lawsuit was circulating about the time District Attorney John Champion was reading aloud a congratulatory letter at a dedication ceremony written by Ron Welch, an attorney who has worked to ensure prisoners’ rights for decades.

Welch praised the naming the work center at the jail in honor of former sheriff Hugh “Shot” Bright,  stating, “At least 10 or more existing county work programs in Mississippi drew their original inspiration and encouragement from the Panola County Work Center that Shot built.”

The new building, which houses state inmates on the back side of jail property, was dedicated at a ceremony yesterday.

Now the Horn Lake resident’s suit alleges that he was assaulted by one of his “pod mates” following a weekly procedure of handing out cash to some of the inmates each Friday.

The suit, which represents one side of a legal argument, states that the procedure involves money from family or others being handed out weekly to inmates while under the watch and in earshot of fellow pod mates.

That procedure, according to the lawsuit, led to Dear’s pod mate demanding cash and when he refused, the unnamed pod mate, “brutally attacked plaintiff (Dear) by punching and kicking,” which led to laceration of his spleen, injury to his ribs and re-breaking of his right hand,” the lawsuit alleges.

Panola County Board of Supervisors’ attorney William McKenzie III said he was aware of a pending suit but was yet to be served papers. He said Thursday he didn’t think anyone in the county had been served.

“It’s not the first and it won’t be the last,” McKenzie said while stating that he hasn’t seen a copy of the lawsuit. The long-time county attorney also said that the matter would be turned over to the county’s insurance company whose lawyers  litigate such issues.

Dear is being represented by Ron Lewis of Oxford.

The lawsuit further alleges that Dear was moved to isolation and called for medical help which was initially denied until another jailer transported him to Tri-Lakes where he was examined and transferred by helicopter to the Regional Medical Center in Memphis (The MED) where he was placed in the operating room and had his spleen removed, according to the lawsuit.

Court papers indicate he remained in The Med from March 27 through March 31. The suit also alleges that Dear has had additional health problems since his release.

 A withdrawal of probation warrant was issued August 23 stating that Dear served time for his felony crime and continues his probation.

The suit seeks a jury trial  and judgment for compensatory damages against all defendants and punitive damages against Meek and Griffin as well as attorney fees and expenses of the plaintiff.