GREAT FALLS — A federal jury in Great Falls awarded more than $27 million in a lawsuit filed against private prison company CoreCivic to Nathaniel Lake, who was nearly beaten to death in one of their prisons in Shelby.
Lake was serving time in the CoreCivic-owned Crossroads Correctional Center in Shelby in 2018, when he was assaulted by another inmate.
The inmate reportedly was able to enter Lake’s locked pod without intervention from staff.
Lake was beaten and choked for more than three minutes, undetected by jailers.
He was later found unconscious and airlifted to a hospital in Great Falls.
According to a news release from Lake’s attorney, the beating left Lake in a coma for 33 days with a traumatic brain injury.
His speech, mobility, coordination and cognitive abilities are severely and permanently impacted.
Lake returned to the prison for another six months until the Montana Supreme Court overturned his conviction, and he was released.
A federal jury found the Tennessee-based company CoreCivic liable for failing to protect Lake and awarded $27,750,000 in compensatory damages.
