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MEDIA COURTHOUSE – A Delaware man has filed suit against the George W. Hill Correctional Facility and several of its officials alleging mistreatment during his short stay there earlier this year.

The suit, filed in the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas last month by attorneys David A. Berlin, Matthew B. Weisberg and Gary Schafkopf on behalf of Lamar Marshall, alleges two claims for negligence and one claim for cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

The suit names as defendants Warden Laura K. Williams, Deputy Wardens Dele Faly and Lisa Mastroddi, Jessamine Healthcare Inc., a contractor that provided medical services for the facility, and others of partial or unknown names, including “Counselor Sam” and “Mr. Banks.”

A solicitor for the jail did not return a call for comment Thursday.

Marshall, of Wilmington, was an inmate at the facility for nearly a month between March 30 and April 27, according to the suit. He was initially placed in a holding cell with approximately 17 other inmates for four or five days, the suit says, and there were another 17 inmates in an adjacent holding cell.

“The holding cells did not have basic amenities like working toilets or running water,” according to the complaint. “Plaintiff was unable to shower and was forced to urinate in milk cartons. Plaintiff was forced to sleep on the concrete floor, and as a result, suffered intense back and neck pain.”

Marshall said he was transferred to a cell, but was not provided required recreational time and was forced to eat in his cell. He was later transferred to another cell around April 12, according to the complaint, but Marshall claims this cell did not have a functional lock on the door and a lamp was leaking water.

Marshall said he informed a counselor identified only as “Sam” that the lock was broken and he either needed a new door or for the jail to fix the one in place. He was allegedly told that the head of maintenance, also a defendant, would fix the door, but this never happened.

Marshall asked to be transferred to a cell with a working door, according to the complaint, but this request was denied.

“Plaintiff was in this cell from on or about April 12, 2022, to his release on or about April 27, 2022,” the suit says. “These 15 days were filled with extreme fear and anxiety as plaintiff was terrified that he would be attacked in his cell.”

Marshall says he also still has back problems from being forced to sleep on the concrete floor and continues to suffer “severe physical and emotional distress” from his time at the jail.

He is seeking a judgment in excess of $50,000, as well as punitive damages and attorneys costs and fees. No judge or future hearing dates are listed on electronic court records.

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