Inmate Joseph Horne, 42, Died In Suspected Homicide At California State Prison, Sacramento

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA (November 6, 2023) – A man identified as Joseph Horne has tragically died in a suspected attack at California State Prison, Sacramento.

Sacramento County officials are saying that the incident took place on Saturday. Joseph Horne was in a cell with another 33-year-old inmate.

Correctional officers noticed that the inmate was unresponsive on the  floor of his jail cell. Jail medical staff entered the cell and transported Joseph Horne to the prison’s Triage and Treatment Area.

Despite life-saving measures, he was later pronounce dead. His cellmate is being treated as a suspect in the death.

A full investigation remains ongoing at this time.

 

Liability For Sacramento County Jail Inmate Deaths

Homicides remain one of the leading causes of inmate death in the United States. According to Statista, “In 2019, 143 inmates of state and federal prisons in the United States were killed by homicide. This is a significant increase from 2008 levels, when 40 inmates were killed in state or federal prisons in the United States.” There are a number of steps that jails should take in order to prevent inmate homicides.

• Jails should be staffed by well-trained correctional officers.
• Jails should perform a screening and assessment on all inmates. Generally speaking, rival gang members should be segregated away from one another.
• Jails should do everything that they can to prevent inmates from gaining access to weapons.

All jails have a legal obligation to protect inmates from reasonably foreseeable sources of harm. This includes attacks at the hands of other inmates. When a jail has specific knowledge of particular threats and fails to act, this could form the basis of a constitutional claim. Victims of jail attacks tend to suffer very serious and costly injuries including:

• Broken bones
• Head injuries
• Lacerations
• Spinal cord injuries

Most attacks inside of jails are not random. They are often the result of a series of long-standing and ongoing threats. Sadly, though, jails often look the other way when they see that two inmates have a violent history with one another. The family of any person that died in an attack in prison may have legal recourse through a civil claim. A civil rights attorney can examine all of the unique facts of your case and let you know what your legal options are.

 

Getting Legal Help After Sacramento County Jail Homicides

We at the Sehat Law Firm extend our deepest condolences to the family of Joseph Horne. Any person that may have more information about what happened should reach out to investigators. It is our hope that jail officials will implement security measures to prevent other tragedies like this. Going to jail should not become a death sentence.

Have you or someone that you care about been harmed while staying at the California State Prison, Sacramento? Our team of civil rights attorneys are here to help in any way that we can. We care deeply that jails are upholding constitutional standards. Whether you just have legal questions or need a free, independent investigation into any incident we are here for you. You can reach out to us anytime at (949) 825-5200.