A Sing Sing prison inmate who was slashed by another inmate and almost died after cooperating with prosecutors against a gang member has been awarded $7.65 million in damages.

A jury has awarded a former Sing Sing prison inmate a $7.65 million judgment against high-ranking corrections officials, saying they did not heed his pleas for protection after cooperating with prosecutors against a gang leader.
The ruling was handed down by a federal court jury in Manhattan that found the state Department of Corrections “conspired to violate” the inmate’s constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment by not segregating him from gang members. The inmate was slashed by another prisoner and nearly bled to death at Sing Sing in 1998, according to his lawyer.

The jury ordered state Corrections Commissioner Glenn Goord to pay $5 million in punitive damages and Sing Sing security chief William Connolly to pay $2.5 million. It ordered an additional $150,000 in compensatory damages. Although the court found the two men individually responsible, the state would pay if the verdict stands. The state has vowed to appeal. It’s believed to be the largest judgment against high-ranking corrections officials, according to the inmate’s lawyer, Paul Kerson.