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Badly hurt inmate's mom asks why

JACKSONVILLE - The mother of a jail inmate wants to know how her son suffered injuries during or after a fight with guards in February that left him in a persistent vegetative state.

Ginger Laughon and her attorney, Sean Cronin, filed a federal civil rights complaint against the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. They say they may sue if they do not learn how John Laughon, 39, suffered the head injury, nine broken ribs and collapsed lungs. Laughon was serving time for marijuana possession.

"His future is uncertain, his health is uncertain and he is not likely to improve," Cronin said.

In May, Undersheriff Frank Mackesy said Laughon had fought with officers three times in three days, but his only injuries were scrapes and bruises. He said the broken ribs may have been caused by aggressive cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Cronin said records show that on Feb. 22, John Laughon was put in a restraining chair for attacking an officer in the Duval County Jail. About 2:20 a.m., an officer found Laughon - who had a history of violent seizures - out of the restraints. A police report said Laughon attacked the officer, then a second one. Other officers helped restrain him.

The report said Laughon was taken in a van to Shands Jacksonville for treatment of minor injuries and a mental evaluation. But when he arrived, a nurse found he was not breathing, had no pulse and was cold to the touch. After he was resuscitated, he was found to have nine broken ribs, two punctured lungs and a closed head injury.

[Last modified July 23, 2005, 00:52:10]