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Show Inmate with a switch, (Gardner thwarted that bypositioning himself in the judgehas upheldtheconstitution ality of the death-penalty prose Finally Has doorway while knifing Thomas.) Afterward, Gardner boasted. The sonof a bitchis so fat I was cution. A Lawsuit all the way up to the hilt,” @ Continued from B-1 that investigator Kevin Nitzel was Ron Yengich appeals that, the he path after the bragged to other cons, unaware stabbing: rests for drugs, concealed weapon and robbery — all at age 18. He busts for theft and drugs, a pre: jude to his moment in the spot- light at a Layton pharmacyin April 1980 Paroled six weeks earlier for larceny, Thomas and another armed man stormed the Main Street drugstore and took eight hostages. While scores of officers surrounded the store, the pair slowly released their captives during a 13-hour standoff. Before He pleaded guilty to aggravated bing. Thomasreported in writing Boyce to require the Corrections him theprison clinical director. While administrators received Thomas vall appeals that to trial judge guards and administrators, rules theprison pecking order with his out of Barker's reach. Barkeralso has dredged up the handful ofpretrial legal disputes with the attorney general while cobbling together civil-rights custody at 3rd District Court housein Salt Lake City, a couple of escapes and numerous assaults. claims that probablywill landbe- forea jury. He prevailed, for instance. when Salt Lake CountyDistrict Attorney Neal Gunnarson asked to quash Barker's subpoena Armed with U.S. Magistrate Ronald Boyce’s order, Barker was al- Gardner is charged with a capital death sentence. Assistant Atty. Gen. Harry Sou- pushed Thomas’ case, winning a reputation and poses a perpetual security risk. Gardner has committed two murders, including one while in lowed to plumb the criminal in- A 3rd District to protect me, you've been given notice. And 13 days before the stab. blank And he has this compelling line of evidence: In the two months be- from such litigation. They proba- tends he submitted five written prison in Indiana. The high court asserted that prison officials can drinking homebrew, and him say- July 1 For one, Larsen and Souvall said theyare reluctant to pay set- tlements to inmates becauseit en- grounds that, as public employ- ees, the defendants are immune | notin theoffingandtrial is set for Gen. Dan Larsen, said they are taking the ThomasBarkercaseseriously the assault, the videotape nowis 5 ' otherlegal fine points. Though Barker and Thomas have built a case, a settlement is Souvall and his supervisor, As- fact that although guard Zimmer requests to be moved away from Gardner. “Ronnie Gardner, making and 3 state dismissed without giving up a nickel. Manyof those dismissals are for reasons of immunity and requests. Theyare expected to seek dismissal of the suit soon on the fore the stabbing, Thomas con- [§ ting civil-rights cases against the 90% to 95% success rate in get- The Corrections Department is likely to argue there is no proof sistant Atty. testified a surveillance camera was functioning properly during mantand the 1994 stabbing Larsen pointed to his staffs that Gardner threatened tokill Winder, the document remains or [officials] be lieved, albeit unsoundly, that the risk wasinsubstantial Souvall noted there is a sevenyear gap between Thomas’ last documented work as an infor courages other prisoners to sue. Moreover, it is the defense, not Thomas, that has invoked the bly will cite a 1994 U.S. Supreme Courtruling in a transsexual inmate’s squabble with a federal right to a jurytrial — a signal that, even in the face of potentially damaging evidence. the state may be willing to put its fate in the hands of a typical federal jury onlybe heldliable for attacks by of conservative white Utahns to decide the case of a black career criminal prisonersif they know an inmate faces a substantial risk of seri- TVALs ey.Vhae weekslater, he escaped from the University of Utah Medical Center, where he was supposed to be 18” Satellite From Houston Tracker SPRING SPECIAL ‘sh undergoing a hernia operation. He wasparoled again in April 1993. A few weekslater, he point- ed a revolver at two clerks in a Redwood Road fried-chicken stand andfled with $1,000 — and @ Save up to 40% on programming over other mini dish systems ® Digital Audio & Video @ A la carte basic programming available @ Parentai lock out ETWORK NW the manager. Hefreedthe captive and ran to a nearby apartment complex, where he was arrested. He was convictedbya juryfor his © Complete 18” Digital Satellite System @ ProfessionalInstallation @ One year (5) HBO, (3) Cinemax, Disney and Expanded Basic. ONLY PLUS MUCH MORE currentlife ticket Undercover Work: Thomas also serveda stint as an FBIinformant, records show. $ OAL 9.9 Fixed interest Only from THE EXPERTSat: 24°. WASATCH SATELLITE For three months in 1987, the feds put up $2,085 for his rent _248 East 6400 South and bills and paid him another $3,650, * But he couldn't hold the job 269-8282 jong + “I discontinued any use of [Thomas] as a c: inforant [because] he had failed a rine test,” FBI agent Rick Ras- qmussen said under oath. “A earch of his apartment recovered narcotics and narcotics para- INTE RMOUNTAIN phernalia. He was arrested and returned to state custody From the prison in Gunnison FBI snitch. Overthe years Thomas made no secret of his undercover work — rather, he cited it in someofhis public lawsuits. He complained, for example, that agents broke their promise to enlist him in the witness protection program. He has sued the parole board, prison guards and wardens, county sheriffs and jail secretaries, the are using “contin uous quality improvement FBI, Salt Lake police, TV news anchorman Phil Riesen, social workers, psychiatrists, court com- missioners, The Salt Lake Trib- WILLIAM NELSON une and the Utah attorney general, among ethers. treat his injuries sustained lifting weights in a county jail. He has | any people thinkhigh | quality is always more expensive. Weexpect to pay a premiumfor the best goods andservices. Yet in 3 healthcare, exactly the opp site ts often true: the higher the complained abouthis prison security classification, about being called “Blackboy,” about being denied FBI records, about being disciplined by prisonofficials becausehe is black, aboutfalling in the shower of an Ogden halfway house. Andhehasfiled the usual writs challenging his convictions. Thomashas sued so often that Utah federal court last year put him on an exclusive list with 11 others: Before any more of his suits will be officially lodged, they must be reviewed by Chief Judge David Winder. State prison administrators and sheriffs statewide view Thomas as a chronic nuisance. To accommodate his myriad complaints and concernsfor his safety, the prison tried putting him up in county jails — but he wore out his welcome. “You were a management and eonirol problem while in the county jail system,” prison direc- tor Gerald Cook wrote him in October 1990. “You were expelled from the Sanpete, Millard and Seyier countyjails because your be- havior and attitude could not be tolerated. Your behavior was so disruptive that county jail offi- | | quality, the lower the cost Indeed, quality improvement holds great promiseas a wa y of cutting costs fromour nz healthcare system — even a: patients receive better car Noone questions thathealt h care costs are high, but in med: icine, poor quality is eve expensive The | Tequires tre ment, 4 more comphcated that treat mentis, the expense WHATIS QUALITY? cials throughout thestate have re- fused to consider you for future placement.” So they yanked him back into state quarters in Draper where, in 1994, he resided in Uinta II's section 7, alongside Utah's toughest expectationsare changing. Once stan- of excellence has prisoners. A few cells away, in No. 2707, lived Ronnie Lee Gard- her. The ; Thereis little dispute it was Gardner whorepeatedly plunged the 6-inch shank, fashioned from metal sunglasses frames, into Thomas’ chest and ribs while Thomas tried to fend him off with a blanket wrapped around his forearm Gardner had predicted he would somedayattack “‘snitches and crybabies.” And Sgt. Aaron Zimmerwitnessed the stabbing on a monitor while he unsuccessfully tried to close Thomas’ cell door CARE sed. Quality improvement is a process, not a esulth HOW IS. QUALITY IMPROVED? basedon the study of effective ent ani savedpatients neatly just one year $3n : treatments. CQI (CQN theory to improve the quality of medical care. CQlisa four-step process 1. First, you makea detailed study of the processes processe involvedin deliv ering healthcare relating these processes to measurable out comes. This may asonable 1 techniques are another tool physiciansare ally exclusive contradictory goals. As these | } using to do what examp! les show, they have always not be sacrificed to cost done — help thelr patients IHC pt quality need ans, || | nurses, and TWO SUCCESS STORIES Anexampleof the past deca 100 articles abc involve using = helpcollect and analyze 2. Then you determinethe a Pt cedures for new bors suspectedof 3. 4 * 3 “i = _ a mentthene process, eliminating inappropriate varia ms from the estat shed standard OF mM Care 4. Finally, you1 he outcomes and document howquality has ion related to health c lease cal IHC DIALOGUE ON HEALTH CARE 36 South State Street Salt Lake City, Utah 84111 1-800-889-3337 In manyhealth orga ovementis unde He —- INTERMOUNTAIN HEALTH CARE a = 3 = os = 3 = ° Bluutensaara oe declined to discuss his work as an officials of having a veterinarian rH In Health Care, High Quality Costs Less } last week, Thomas denied his urine showed traces of drugs. He In the lawsuits, he has accused HEA | | snitch concernedfor his safety as an ex- Barker has ‘0 Richard Thomas patiently lawyer ous harm the July 28 de- How long do I have to wait to to the FBI file on Thomas’ days as an informant — buttressing another of Thomas’ claims, that the Corrections Department was un- was appointed a he he ing I'm a snitch,” mand stated be moved?” asked the Aug. 20 missive. “You have an obligation Department tofork overthecritieal medical evaluation by Jones, corrections employees. Not filling his death sentence, tweaks crimethat could produce another robbery and kidnapping and re- The lawyer also forced access long after filed suit. coming out as soonas I shoot my ceived a life sentence. A few additional evidence. an informant Theaffair was vintage Gardner whoscorns the system for not ful- dope.” Thomasalso was charged with a stickup at a Salt Lake pharmacy a month before the Layton robbery vestigative file of the stabbingfor ‘And he won a decision from and five other was“forced” to stab Thomas because the prison housed himnear Once, he barricaded a room and hadsex with a femalevisitor. Although Thomasdid notdie. freeing the last hostages, one of the suspects announced: “We're He sued Zimmer still in the cellblock nickel-and-dimedhis waythrough While defense attorney case against Gardner is on hold Thomas, meanwhile, set out on familiar -—— his just stabbingfat, butit was going Gardner told The Tribune he | UTAH Sunday, March 31, 1996 The Salt Lake Tribune c4 |