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DOC settles detainee’s lawsuit over soursop tea
Department of Corrections officials have settled a lawsuit filed by a detainee who alleged that his request for soursop tea to treat a painful sore in his mouth has been denied.
Attorney Jeanne H. Rayphand, counsel for Joseph S. Epina, notified the U.S. District Court for the NMI on Friday about the settlement. With this, Rayphand asked for the dismissal of Epina’s lawsuit.
Rayphand filed the notice of dismissal on Friday, a day after Epina filed the lawsuit. The notice did not provide details about the terms and conditions of the settlement.
Epina, 43, was suing DOC Commissioner Georgia Cabrera, Division of Pre-Trial Detention director Jose Pangelinan, and Division of Corrections director Gregory Castro for allegedly depriving him of his liberty without due process and deprivation of a traditional method of healing.
In his lawsuit, Epina, through Rayphand, asked the court to issue a temporary restraining order, stopping Corrections from denying him a gallon of soursop tea made with 20 soursop leaves, every day.
He asked for a preliminary injunction preventing Corrections from denying him this traditional treatment for cancer while his case is pending.
On a final hearing, Epina asked the court to permanently stop Corrections from denying him this traditional treatment while he is detained at DOC.
Epina has been detained at DOC since March 14, 2016, for rape of a minor case.
According to Rayphand in the complaint, Epina was diagnosed in 2012 with varrucuous carcinoma after which surgery was performed to remove the cancer.
Epina then allegedly requested that he be given soursop tea in order to combat the recurring cancer. Rayphand said the defendants denied Epina’s requests. This deprived him of his 14th Amendment right to adequate medical care while in custody, Rayphand said.
She said this also deprived Epina of liberty without due process of law, in violation of the U.S. Constitution.
According to Superior Court records, police arrested Epina last March for allegedly raping a 12-year-old. The defendant has failed to post a $25,000 cash bail.
