NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Young people were pepper-sprayed, beaten, forced to sleep next to urine and more, a lawsuit filed in Middle Tennessee claims. It alleges abuse in the state's juvenile justice system.
The lawsuit claims children across Tennessee have been impacted, especially those with disabilities. Jonathan Tepe, partner at Sanford Heisler Sharp LLP and one of the lawyers representing the plaintiffs of this case said, these teenagers are being mistreated and abused.
"They're subjected to solitary confinement, sometimes 23 hours a day," Tepe said. "At some facilities, they are pepper sprayed by staff, and at times, they go out of their way to make it more painful by shutting off water so they can't rinse off."
According to the lawsuit, one plaintiff was attacked by peers who demanded that he perform sexual acts and beat him when he refused. When he told facility staff, the lawsuit said that they encouraged them to beat him again.
The complaint includes an incident where a defendant locked a juvenile in his cell for almost 23 hours and caused him to rip his hair out. Another juvenile with autism was repeatedly pepper sprayed for having meltdowns, according to the lawsuit.
"Staff will incentivize other youth to attack other youth in the facilities by offering them cannabis vape pens or ramen noodles," Tepe said.
The lawsuit also said a 15-year-old boy slept on a bare bed frame near cockroaches, mold, and urine.
The lawsuit's Eighth and 14th Amendment constitutional claims involve the excessive force and violence that the kids are experiencing.
"Involve the failure to provide them with medical and mental health treatment," Tepe said. "So essentially, the U.S. Constitution forbids all of the mistreatment that's going on in these facilities. So we have 14th and Eighth Amendment claims based on that."
If the state's not willing to settle and fix these issues, Tepe said, the next step would be going to trial.
"We're very confident that all of this is going on and that will succeed in this case," Tepe said.
Tepe said they're trying to get a court order requiring the state to address these issues, to stop mistreating and abusing these kids and to start providing them with the care and treatment. The lawsuit has a purpose, and Tepe said they will follow through as their investigation has been thorough.
"We're not seeking money," Tepe said. "We are seeking a declaratory relief, which is the court saying all of this stuff that's happening is illegal, and then we're seeking injunctive relief, which will be the procedures that are put in place to reform the system, to change these practices and improve them for the better, so that Tennessee starts taking care of its most vulnerable youth."