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Prison Riot Lawsuit

By KRWG News

El Paso – Family members of an illegal immigrant whose death at a West Texas prison set off an inmate riot have filed a federal lawsuit.

The suit on behalf of Jesus Manuel Galindo was filed Wednesday in El Paso. Galindo died in December 2008 when attorneys say the 32-year-old had an epileptic seizure while in solitary confinement at the Reeves County Detention Center.

Galindo was serving a 30-month sentence for illegal re-entry. Prisoners rioted days after Galindo's death, taking two employees hostage and setting an exercise room on fire.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages against Reeves County and the GEO Group, which manages the facility. The company did not immediately return an email seeking comment.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.