Case Background
Incarcerated individual Alexander Jewell was serving time under the custody of the New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision at the Green Haven Correctional Facility in Stormville, New York. On April 6, 2019, a series of physical altercations occurred in the prison facility's G-H yard, which ultimately led to a civil rights lawsuit in federal Court.
Cause
The incident began when Alexander Jewell engaged in a brief physical altercation with another incarcerated individual in the prison yard. A correction officer approached the scene and prepared to deploy a canister of chemical spray to break up the fight. Seeking to avoid the chemical spray, Jewell ran away from the responding officer. Other facility officers ordered him to stop, and Jewell complied with their orders. The officers then secured Jewell in handcuffs.
Jewell claimed that after he was restrained, Sergeant Daniel Mulligan escorted him from the yard. During this escort, Mulligan allegedly yelled at Jewell for running from the officer and violently struck Jewell in the head. Jewell further asserted that Mulligan directed other officers on the scene to use additional physical force against him. According to the allegations, these officers then punched and kicked Jewell multiple times in the head and body until he lost consciousness, all while Mulligan stood by and failed to intervene despite having a reasonable opportunity to do so.
Jewell stated that when he regained consciousness, he looked up and saw Correction Officer Peter Link. Link allegedly ordered Jewell not to look at him, and then continued the beating by punching, kicking, and discharging chemical spray at him. This second beating allegedly took place in the presence of Sergeant Michel Blot, who did not intervene to prevent the assault but instead joined the beating by kicking Jewell. After these events, prison personnel transported Jewell to the facility infirmary. Jewell claimed that while he was in the infirmary, Mulligan grabbed him by the throat and ordered him to state that his injuries resulted from the earlier fight with the other incarcerated individual rather than from the correction staff.
Injury
Alexander Jewell sustained multiple severe personal injuries as a result of the physical force used against him by the prison staff. His physical trauma included a severe injury to his knee that required surgical repair. He also suffered an injury to his ear that caused sustained hearing loss and led to multiple subsequent ear infections. Additionally, Jewell sustained traumatic injuries to his ribs and his back during the altercations.
Damages Sought
Alexander Jewell sought a formal judgment against Sergeant Daniel Mulligan, Officer Peter Link, and Sergeant Michel Blot individually and collectively. He requested compensatory damages in the specific amount of $2,000,000.00 to address his severe physical injuries, medical needs, and suffering. Furthermore, he requested an unspecified number of punitive damages to be determined by the trier of fact at trial. Jewell also demanded the recovery of reasonable attorney's fees under federal law, along with interest, legal costs, and the general disbursements of the federal civil action.
Key Arguments and Proceedings
The legal proceedings took place in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, under the supervision of United States District Judge Kenneth M. Karas. Alexander Jewell initiated the litigation by filing a formal civil rights complaint on April 1, 2022, under Section 1983 of Title 42 of the United States Code, asserting that the Defendants violated his constitutional rights. The defense filed its formal answer to the complaint on July 14, 2022, denying all core allegations of wrongdoing and demanding a trial by jury.
Legal Representation
Plaintiff(s): Alexander Jewell
· Counsel for Plaintiff(s): Edward Sivin | David Thomas Roche | Glenn D Miller
Defendant(s): Sergeant Daniel Mulligan | Correction Officer Peter Link | Sergeant Michel Blot
· Counsel for Defendant(s): Letitia James | Kathryn Martin | George Patrick Burns, Jr. | Elizabeth Barbanes
Key Arguments or Remarks by Counsel
The Plaintiff's counsel argued that the collective actions of Sergeant Mulligan, Officer Link, and Sergeant Blot were completely intentional, sadistic, and malicious. The legal team asserted that the heavy physical force used against a handcuffed, non-resisting incarcerated individual served absolutely no legitimate penological interest and lacked any form of legal justification. They emphasized that the failure of supervisors to intervene during a brutal beating, combined with the subsequent threats made in the infirmary to cover up the incident, demonstrated a coordinated violation of federal civil rights.
The New York State Attorney General's office, representing the correction staff, raised multiple institutional and constitutional defenses to counter the lawsuit. The defense counsel argued that the complaint entirely failed to state a valid legal claim upon which the Court could grant financial or injunctive relief. They asserted that the correction officers acted under an objectively reasonable belief that their operational actions did not violate any clearly established constitutional rights of the Plaintiff. Consequently, the defense argued that the doctrines of qualified immunity and proper discretionary authority fully protected all three Defendants from any civil liability. Furthermore, the defense argued that Jewell's claims were barred because he failed to exhaust the available administrative remedies within the New York State prison system before filing his federal lawsuit. They also maintained that the alleged physical injuries were caused by independent third parties, specifically referring to the initial yard fight with the other incarcerated individual, rather than the actions of the state correction staff.
Claims
Alexander Jewell brought his primary federal claim under the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which protects individuals from cruel and unusual punishment. Within this constitutional framework, Jewell pursued distinct liability theories against the individual officers based on their specific roles during the incident. He brought individual claims of excessive force against Sergeant Daniel Mulligan and Officer Peter Link for actively inflicting physical harm. Concurrently, he brought claims of failure to intervene against Sergeant Daniel Mulligan and Sergeant Michel Blot, arguing that as law enforcement supervisors on the scene, they had a legal duty to protect him from the ongoing physical abuse but deliberately chose to stand by and watch.
Defense
The Defendants denied every assertion of excessive force, supervisory failure, and subsequent intimidation. Sergeant Mulligan admitted that he escorted Jewell from the yard after Jewell ran from an officer during a fight, and the defense admitted that Jewell was taken to the facility infirmary. However, the defense maintained that the officers acted appropriately at all times to restore order in the secure facility. They argued that Jewell could not demonstrate physical injuries directly resulting from staff conduct that would entitle him to monetary damages under federal statutory law. The defense also raised the legal doctrines of res judicata and collateral estoppel, suggesting that the claims were barred by prior legal determinations or administrative findings.
Jury Verdict
The civil rights case proceeded to a full jury trial before Judge Kenneth M. Karas in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, sitting in White Plains, New York. The jury heard the evidence regarding the yard fight, the subsequent use of force, and the medical records from the infirmary.
On February 5, 2026, the jury returned a unanimous verdict completely in favor of the Defendants Sergeant Daniel Mulligan, Correction Officer Peter Link, and Sergeant Michel Blot on all submitted constitutional claims. Specifically, the jury rejected the excessive force claims against Mulligan and Link and rejected the failure to intervene claims against Mulligan and Blot.
Following the jury's explicit findings, Judge Karas issued an official order entering judgment on March 2, 2026. The Court ordered, adjudged, and decreed that judgment be entered in favor of all three Defendants on all claims asserted in the lawsuit. The Court dismissed Alexander Jewell's complaint in its entirety with prejudice, ruling that the Plaintiff shall take absolutely nothing from the action. Finally, under Rule 54(d)(1) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Court ruled that the Defendants, as the prevailing parties in federal litigation, are legally entitled to recover their taxable costs from the Plaintiff. The Clerk of Court formally closed the civil case file on March 2, 2026.
Court documents are available upon request at [email protected]
