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Prison discrimination lawsuit starts
©Associated Press
October 29, 2002
OCALA -- The white employees and supervisors at Marion and Lake county prisons had a shared sense of contempt for black workers, an attorney said Monday during opening statements of a discrimination trial.
The federal lawsuit alleges that white corrections officers discriminated against black employees.
"Too many decisions at the department are made by cliques who abuse their power behind the scenes," prosecutor Frank Scruggs told the jury.
Plaintiffs were given bad work schedules, disciplined unfairly, denied training and promotion opportunities and subjected to a "hostile work environment" that included racial slurs, Scruggs said.
But lead defense attorney Peter Martin said race was not the cause of differential treatment.
The suit names three prisons -- Lowell Correctional Institution, Marion Correctional Institution and Lake Correctional Institution.
Ten plaintiffs are involved in this lawsuit and about 20 more are involved in three pending suits.
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