Corpun file 7231 at www.corpun.com
The Nashville Tennessean, 13 October 2000
Rutherford County sued over alleged spanking
By Emily Heffter
Staff Writer
A Rutherford County man who said he was made to pull down his pants so he could be spanked at the Rutherford County Correctional Workhouse is suing the county and four workhouse officials.
Lee Walney, who was serving a sentence for a misdemeanor charge at the workhouse, said a guard, Steve McClusky, handcuffed him to a chain-link fence, pulled down his pants and spanked him with a switch, according to a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court Tuesday.
The lawsuit said McClusky and another guard, Richard Locke, then let another inmate spank Walney and left him handcuffed for 10 minutes with his pants down, humiliating him.
According to the complaint, McClusky had handcuffed Walney to steel bars before the spanking incident. Walney also claims that another guard, Henry Godfrey, refused to unlock the handcuffs from the fence, leaving him there for more than an hour.
Walney is suing the guards for $1 million each.
When reached at the work center yesterday, Warden Alan Miller said he was unaware of the lawsuit and referred questions to Jim Cope, the Rutherford County attorney.
Cope was out of the country and could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Miller is also named as a defendant in the suit. Joe M. Brandon Jr., Walney's lawyer, said Miller should have taken action against the guards before the spanking incident occurred.
Walney is also accusing Rutherford County of negligently managing the workhouse.
Emily Heffter covers Rutherford County for The Tennessean.
© Copyright 2001 The Tennessean
A Gannett Co. Inc. newspaper
