Facts

From April 10, 2002, to April 30, 2004, plaintiff John Williams was imprisoned as a pretrial detainee in Los Angeles County. In 2005, Williams sued the county and some of its personnel for civil rights violations based on the Eighth Amendment due to unconstitutionally cruel conditions of incarceration and physical mistreatment.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
Williams alleged that the county subjected him to cruel and unusual punishment and strayed from identified standards of care that he was entitled to. In particular, Williams claimed that the substandard conditions resulted from plumbing problems and the refusal of jail employees to clean feces, urine, and sewage in his cell. He also contended that corrections officers Christopher Valente, Jose Aguilar, and Christopher Quintero used excessive force against him on July 28, 2003, when they beat him and conducted an unlawful digital rectal cavity search on him.

DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS:
The defense denied that the correctional officers used excessive force and argued that the officers conducted a lawful search to uncover unlawful conduct.

Injuries

Williams claimed that he suffered diarrhea, emotional distress, fatigue, fever, and infection.

Result

The parties reached a settlement.