Judge dismisses prisoners' suit

BRUNSWICK - A federal judge in Brunswick has thrown out lawsuits filed by two inmates who claimed they were forced to eat raw oatmeal as punishment for trying to steal food. <br> <br> Senior U.S. District Court Judge Anthony Alaimo dismissed the lawsuit this week against a group of correctional officers at the Federal Correctional Institution in Jesup. <br> <br> Everton Lafayette, 41, and Colleem L. Wilson, 31, accused the officers of violating their constitutional right to protection from cruel and unusual punishment. <br> <br> The suits claimed corrections officers watched, laughed and made bets about how much of the 4-pound bags of oatmeal the inmates would eat. <br> <br> The judge ruled there was insufficient evidence to prove those claims. <br> <br> Lafayette and Wilson, serving prison terms for unrelated drug trafficking charges, filed separate but similar lawsuits. They sought a total of $15 million in damages.

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