DOVER, Del. (AP) - A federal appeals court says a Delaware prison inmate can continue to pursue a lawsuit challenging conditions of his confinement.
The appeals court ruled this week that a federal judge in Wilmington improperly dismissed Donald Parkell's claims that officials failed to protect him from prison violence and to ensure his proper medical care.
The appeal court said Parkell should be given the chance to amend his lawsuit before a determination is made on whether he has stated valid claims against corrections commissioner Robert Coupe and the warden of Howard Young prison.
Parkell claims he was severely beaten by several other inmates after trying to stand up for weaker inmates who were crowded together with gang members and other violent offenders in a prison wing with insufficient space, food and supplies.
