Seven inmates at a Kentucky correctional facility have filed a lawsuit against multiple correctional officers and the warden. They allege that they were forced to drink their own urine or face electrocution by Taser after they failed drug tests.

The alleged abuse of power occurred in March and April of 2023 and could underscore serious problems in the state’s prison system.

According to the lawsuit, inmates who failed drug tests were told they could either throw away their urine samples if they agreed to be tased or drink their own urine.

A lawsuit filed on behalf of seven inmates at the Eastern Kentucky Correctional Complex claims they were forced to either drink their own urine or be tased after failing a drug test while in custody.[...]

An investigation into the allegations appears to back up the inmates’ accusations.

In a June 6th memo to Randy White, deputy commissioner of the Department of Corrections, an investigator said the findings substantiated that staffers were tasing inmates who failed drug test.

“This determination is based on the preponderance of evidence,” according to an investigative memo obtained by WDRB. “This evidence includes video footage, staff and inmate witness statements , electronic Taser evidence log ... and inconsistencies in suspect interviews.”

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court’s Eastern District in Ashland, claims four correctional officers told the inmates who failed drug tests “they would be able to ‘throw away’ their urine sample if they chose to be subjected to electrocution by taser or to drink their own urine.”

However, the suit also claims the seven inmates were “forced” to either be tased or drink their urine.

The Taser logs revealed that they were used against inmates during the timeframe outlined in the lawsuit.

Lisa Lamb, a spokesperson for the Department of Corrections, explained that “this incident was thoroughly investigated, and multiple disciplinary actions were taken, including employee terminations.” She added, “As of now, the Department of Corrections has not been served with the lawsuit and cannot provide further comment." 

But WDBR reported she didn't comment on details of the disciplinary action or terminations, including the results of the investigation.

This is the latest story highlighting corruption and abuse in Kentucky’s prison system. In February, an investigation exposed rampant sexual misconduct and other types of malfeasance among employees.

The revelations were brought to light by a report from the Lexington Herald-Leader, which obtained more than 800 pages of internal affairs investigations. The news outlet’s investigation exposed a serious scandal, with one chaplain facing sodomy and sexual abuse charges and a correctional officer pleading guilty to rape. It points to systemic issues within the state’s corrections department.

Over a 16-month period ending in November 2023, the Kentucky Department of Corrections discovered at least 30 of its employees were involved in inappropriate relationships with prisoners, probationers and parolees under their supervision.

At least 14 more were caught smuggling contraband into prisons for inmates, usually drugs, such as suboxone and meth, or taking money from inmates or their relatives in exchange for smuggling.

These findings emerge from a Herald-Leader analysis of more than 800 pages of internal affairs investigations obtained from the Department of Corrections under the Kentucky Open Records Act.

One of the employee-inmate sex cases resulted in pending sodomy and sexual abuse charges against the chaplain at Eastern Kentucky Correctional Complex in Morgan County, 56-year-old Todd Steven Boyce, according to court records. That case is set for trial later this year in Morgan Circuit Court.

A federal lawsuit filed June 29, 2023, by Boyce’s alleged victim in that case claims prison officials knew the chaplain sexually molested inmates in the past, but they made no effort to stop him.

“Boyce bragged to plaintiff that he had been previously accused of sexual abuse by other inmates and nothing happened to him, so no one would believe plaintiff if he reported him,” the suit alleges.

In their response to the lawsuit, prison officials denied knowledge of any earlier sexual misbehavior by Boyce as well as any responsibility for his current criminal charges.

The allegations made in the lawsuit are quite damning. If true, they reveal a disturbing level of corruption in Kentucky’s Department of Corrections. While the department claims it has addressed the officers allegedly involved in the abuse, it seems clear that this misconduct is a systemic issue. Perhaps some accountability might motivate those in charge to address this problem.