Family of slain Monroe inmate files lawsuit against prison

MONROE, Wash. (AP) _ The family of a man who was stomped to death while at the Monroe Correctional Complex has filed a lawsuit accusing prison officers of failing to protect him.

The Daily Herald of Everett reports (http://bit.ly/1UVSQKa ) that the complaint lists nine corrections officers, saying they failed to protect 45-year-old Gordon Powell, of Centralia, from being beaten to death in May 2015.

Snohomish County prosecutors have charged 35-year-old Benjamin Price with aggravated murder in connection to the death. He has been found incompetent to stand trial for now and is waiting for a bed at Western State Hospital.

Officials from the state Department of Corrections referred questions about the lawsuit to the state Attorney General's Office, which could not be reached for comment.