Hawa Abdi Jama, 37, was one of nine immigrants who had brought Correctional Services Corp., one of the nation's largest prison contrac tors, to court, alleging abuse. Dur ing a six-week trial in Newark, the company -- known as Esmor when it ran the Elizabeth center -- reached settlements with every other defendant.
Jama, now a U.S. citizen living in Ohio, pressed forward with her case, which was groundbreaking because it hinged on the Alien Tort Claims Act of 1789, a federal law previously used to target individuals and governments outside the United States, such as mass rapists in Bosnia. U.S. District Judge Dick inson R. Debevoise ruled the defendants had the right to seek monetary damages for violations on U.S. soil.
It was also the first time the statute was applied to a private company.
Jama fled civil war in Somalia in 1994 after armed men burst into her home, shot her father and two brothers, then stabbed her with a bayonet and ripped off her ear. She spent time in a refugee camp in Kenya before obtaining an airplane ticket to the United States.
Upon landing, she was quickly taken into custody and eventually was brought to the Elizabeth de tention center, where immigrants are held while they await decisions on their asylum applications.
Esmor ran the facility until the federal government fired it, after hundreds of detainees rioted over poor conditions in 1995.
During the trial, Jama testified she had hoped to find a better life in the United States but instead suffered abuse and humiliation at the detention center. She said she and others were beaten, fed rotten food, denied basic supplies such as toothbrushes and sanitary napkins, and forced to use toilets and sinks overflowing with feces and vomit.
"I felt like I wasn't human," she said, at times overcome with emotion.
Penny Venetis, the Rutgers University Law School professor who represented Jama and the other defendants, contended that the company cut corners for profits. Venetis urged the jury to award pu nitive damages -- which can often be for sizable sums -- to her client to "send a message" to the company and prevent it from abusing others.
The defense argued the allega tions were exaggerated and the psychological harm Jama suffered could be traced back to Somalia.
"The poor woman suffered much more in her native country than in the detention facility," said Larry Reich, the Correctional Services attorney. "She came here as a damaged person and we have em pathy for her, but that does not mean we are responsible under our judicial system."
The verdict came on the second day of deliberations, and Reich said he was "certainly pleased" with it.
Although the jury rejected Jama's claim that her international human rights had been violated, it found the company and four of its officers were negligent in hiring, training, supervising and retaining guards. The jury awarded her $100,000 in compensatory damages.
Jama, who is Muslim, also al leged she was prevented from prac ticing her religion. The jury found Esmor and one of its officers liable under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and awarded Jama $1.
As the verdict was announced, Jama, dressed in a brown and white headscarf, clasped her hands together tightly but showed no other reaction. Afterward, she declined to comment.
Venetis said she was disappointed the jury rejected the human rights claim, but added that "the $100,000 is not peanuts." She also said the eight other defendants would not agree to a gag order on their settlements, so de tails eventually will be disclosed.
"I think it's critical for the pub lic to know that when corporations violate human rights they will be called to task, and we have called them to task," said Venetis, co-di rector of the constitutional litigation clinic at Rutgers School of Law-Newark.
Jeff Whelan may be reached at [email protected] or (973) 622-3405.
Source: Star-Ledger, Nov 14, 2007