A St. Clair County Jail inmate charged with first degree murder is seeking $1 million in a lawsuit claiming he was denied proper medication.
In a federal court suit filed Oct. 18 against the county and Wexford Health Sources, Darron Perkins claims his civil rights were violated and his mental stability has been detrimentally affected.
Perkins, a disabled Vietnam veteran, claims he was given a greater dose of medication by a nurse making rounds in the jail approximately two months ago. He consumed all the medication that had been prescribed to him by a psychiatrist, but the nurse accused him of giving pills to another inmate.
He is seeking a public apology, a federal audit of the St. Clair County Jail and Wexford, punitive damages for physical, mental and emotional damages, and $500,000 from each defendant.
Perkins, chairman of a veterans support group--Veterans Advocates Incorporated--also claims that he was hampered because he needs to be mentally sharp during his trial on charges of killing Keith Williams in December 2004. He also faces attempted murder charges for allegedly shooting two other men.
His medications included Trazodone and Prozac for treatment of post traumatic stress disorder, violent nightmares and talking in his sleep.
He claims that after the incident, his medication was withheld for two months, he was not allowed to confront his accuser and he received no explanation as why his medication was discontinued.
“I suffered flashbacks, violent combat induced nightmares and a marked deterioration of my mental health due to the defendants unlawful, illegal cessation of my medicine,” Perkins writes in his complaint.
The case has been assigned to District Judge Michael Reagan.
05-CV-754-MJR