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Parents Of Slain Inmate File Suit Against Maryland

BALTIMORE (WJZ) ― The parents of a murdered inmate lash out at Maryland leaders in what's become a multi-million dollar lawsuit which reveals new details about the killing.

The lawsuit says the state created a hazardous situation and failed to protect the victim, Philip Parker Jr. It doesn't name the inmate charged with his murder, but it does name the state's top corrections officer.

Parker was serving a three-and-a-half year sentence for unarmed robbery, but he ended up losing his life when he was strangled on a prison bus headed from Hagerstown to Supermax.

The lawsuit filed by his parents blames "inadequate staff and resources, improper assignment of staff, improper hiring, training, supervision, improper equipment..." and seeks more than $50 million.

Parker's parents believe the corrections system is broken and needs to be fixed.

"Something should be done with the system. I don't ever want anyone to sit here where I'm sitting again," Philip Parker Sr. tells WJZ's Mike Hellgren.

Kevin Johns, an inmate with a violent past, is charged with Parker's murder. Investigators believe he slipped out of his restraints during the bus ride.

"Kevin was a loaded gun, and [the Department of Corrections] pulled the trigger," Parker's mother, Melissa Rodriguez, said.

Officers, including Robert Scott who was on the bus, claim they never heard a sound.

"Management know, as well as I know, that inmates are capable of getting out of restraints," Scott said.

Repercussions were taken following the incident last year. The state fired three of the officers, issued one a written reprimand, and suspended another. At that time, Frank Sizer, the Commissioner of Corrections, called the murder "unfortunate."

But in the lawsuit, Parker's parents claim that not only did the state leave them high and dry without answer, but they also allege that corrections officials hid behind "walls of secrecy."

"The language is strong, but the reality of the situation, this is an extremely egregious case," Michael Mastracci, the Parker's lawyer said.

The lawsuit also claims Parker was alive when the bus reached Supermax, and was "pulled by his legs down the side of the bus and dragged off the bus with his head striking each step" by officers.

But the officers deny that allegation.

"We took him to the front of the bus, and the driver started to administer life-saving procedures, and he didn't respond," Scott said.

"Every couple of months we find out something different and it's never going to end for us," Rodriguez said.

The victim's parents say they're now fighting for accountability, and even if they win millions, they'll never get what they really want: their son back.

Johns is still awaiting trial for Parker's murder. Prosecutors say they'll seek the death penalty.

Corrections officials and a union representing the officers did not return calls from WJZ Eyewitness News.

To visit a website created in Parker's memory, click here.

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