Judge Imposes Rare Sanction Against Private Prison Firm for Destroying Evidence in Detainee’s Death

A judge has issued a groundbreaking ruling against CoreCivic, a private prison company, for destroying video evidence in a wrongful death lawsuit involving a man who died by suicide while in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody. The case centers on Kesley Vial, a 23-year-old Brazilian asylum-seeker who died in August 2022 after attempting suicide at the CoreCivic-owned Torrance County Detention Facility in New Mexico.

The judge ordered an adverse inference against CoreCivic, meaning the jury could have presumed the missing evidence was unfavorable to the company during a potential trial. This marks the first time a private prison corporation has been held accountable for destroying evidence related to the death of an immigration detainee. The ruling came shortly before a scheduled trial in January but never took place as CoreCivic settled with Vial’s family in March, though the terms remain undisclosed.

Rebecca Sheff, senior staff attorney at ACLU New Mexico and part of the legal team representing Vial’s family, highlighted the significance of the judge’s decision. “CoreCivic is essentially used to getting away with it — to not getting called on it,” she said. She noted that CoreCivic had been notified to preserve all relevant records, including video footage, but failed to do so. Attorneys found that the company destroyed footage from 14 of 15 cameras operating on the day of Vial’s suicide attempt.

Immigration attorney Laboni Hoq, who has pursued similar cases against private prison corporations, echoed the need for accountability. “There has to be accountability when there are knowable consequences and prison corporations flout their responsibilities to preserve evidence,” she stated.

The case underscores a pattern of behavior by private prison companies, which have long been criticized for overwriting video evidence in cases involving detainee deaths. This ruling sets a precedent, signaling that such actions will no longer go unchecked in legal proceedings.