A 23-year inmate of the now-closed Penitentiary of New Mexico Complex is being allowed to dig for evidence at the facility to prove his claims that prisoners were experimented on and poisoned.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports Samuel P. Chavez entered the prison after being convicted of second-degree murder in 1988. He filed a lawsuit in 2007 saying he lost his sight from mistreatment by prison officials and was kept in solitary confinement for a decade.
State District Judge Sarah Singleton ruled Thursday that Chavez can dig a reasonable portion of the prison grounds to find ledgers Chavez says he buried there.
He says they show inmates were experimented on and list names of people whose organs and blood were sold for profit.
The Department of Corrections denies the allegations. Warden German Franco said in court Thursday that the department isn't opposed to a search of limited scope.
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Information from: The Santa Fe New Mexican.
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