42 Million Dollar Judgment Upheld in Inmate Death in Texas

This from Grits for Breakfast:

Everybody from Texas Prison Bidness to the New York Times is oohing and aahing that the 13th Texas Court of Appeals approved a $42.5 million judgment against the Geo Group (formerly Wackenhut), a private prison contractor over a murder in a South Texas Prison, for failing to protect inmates under their care. According to the opinion (pdf):

This case involves the horrific and gruesome death of Gregorio de la Rosa, Jr. (“Gregorio”). Gregorio, an honorably discharged former National Guardsman, was serving a six-month sentence at a prison operated by Wackenhut Corrections Corporation for possession of less than 1/4 grams of cocaine. A few days before his expected release, Gregorio was beaten to death by two other inmates using a lock tied to a sock, while Wackenhut’s officers stood by and watched and Wackenhut’s wardens smirked and laughed.