FILE ART - A tower at San Quentin. SAN QUENTIN, Calif. - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday denied an appeal from California corrections officials who sought immunity from lawsuits claiming they acted with deliberate indifference when they caused a deadly COVID-19 outbreak at one of the world’s most famous prisons four years ago.
The justices turned down the appeal without comment or dissent. The lawsuit stemmed from the botched transfer of infected inmates in May 2020 from a Southern California prison to San Quentin, which at the time had no infections.
The coronavirus then quickly sickened 75% of inmates at the prison north of San Francisco, leading to the deaths of 28 inmates and a correctional officer.
California now faces four lawsuits from the relatives of those who died as well as from inmates and staff who were infected but survived. "The state has had its due process all the way to the Supreme Court.