Sean O'Sullivan

The News Journal

WILMINGTON – Kenneth Abraham, a former state prosecutor turned prison activist after a five-year incarceration, admits that on May 10, 2007, as an inmate, he refused to follow the orders of correctional officers at the Sussex Violation of Probation Center in Georgetown.

Abraham, who was in the facility on a drug charge, said he was wrongly accused of talking in the chow hall, and so he refused one of the standard work punishments at the facility – rolling a log around a tree.

In response to his refusals, the then-60-year-old Abraham alleges in a federal civil lawsuit – now being heard by a jury in U.S. District Court – that he was sprayed in the face with Cap-stun, a potent pepper spray, and was knocked to the ground and kicked repeatedly. Abraham and his attorney Daniel Mulveny charge this was excessive and unnecessary force and a violation of Abraham's right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment.

Deputy Attorney General Catherine C. Damavandi, representing correctional officers Lt. Michael Costello and Cpl. Daniel Mann, said in her opening argument that Abraham was "an inmate rebel without a cause" who was looking to start a fight.

She said that Abraham was treated properly and the actions of correctional officers were necessary "to maintain internal order and discipline" in the prison. She acknowledged that Abraham was hit with Cap-stun but said he was set down "gently" afterward to be handcuffed as per prison policy. She also noted that Abraham did not immediately report many of the injuries he now claims to prison medical workers.

While Abraham said he was quiet and passively resisting, Damavandi said he was combative and disrespectful to staff and was threatening lawsuits.

She said that the pepper spray was less forceful and a safer way of dealing with him than a "hands-on" approach. She said Abraham's rights were not violated, arguing to the jury that Abraham has "grossly exaggerated" what happened.

Abraham, 67, was one of the first witnesses to take the stand, and he delivered a passionate, sometimes rambling, account of his descent, telling jurors his downfall started in 2003, when he returned to Delaware to take care of his ailing father. Abraham, who had been a deputy attorney general from 1974-79, said he turned to cocaine to relieve the stress, breaking down when he recounted how he then began to steal from his father to support his drug habit.

Abraham said following his arrest in 2006 that he had the opportunity to resolve his case with a sentence of probation in a plea deal, but he said he instead willingly chose to take a sentence of incarceration because he felt he could get the drug treatment he needed in the CREST program offered to inmates.

Furthermore, Abraham said once he was in the CREST program at the Central Violation of Probation facility in Smyrna, he purposefully broke the rules one night by refusing to go to his bed so he would be sent to the Sussex VOP Center to see if the facility was as bad as he had heard from other inmates.

However, Abraham said that he had seen enough by May 10, 2007, near the end of his 10-day stay, and did not intentionally provoke a fight.

During his testimony, Abraham repeatedly referred to Costello as "so-called Lieutenant" Costello and former Department of Correction Commissioner Carl Danberg as "Do-nothing Danberg."

Both District Judge Sue L. Robinson and Abraham's attorney had to periodically remind him to stay on topic and limit his answers to the question asked.

On cross-examination, Damavandi raised questions about if Abraham willingly went to the Sussex VOP or was sent there because of repeated misbehavior at the Central VOP. She showed Abraham several write-ups that he said he had never seen before and were untrue.

Several prison officials that have been called to the stand have been unable to offer details on the incident, beyond what was in reports, noting it was seven years ago.

Many, however, disputed details in Abraham's story, like descriptions of the correctional officers' uniforms and if there were inmates working in a nearby laundry when Abraham was pulled from the chow hall.

The case is expected to close either late Wednesday or early Thursday.

Abraham is seeking damages.

Contact Sean O'Sullivan at (302) 324-2777 or sosullivan@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @SeanGOSullivan