The mother of an inmate who committed suicide while incarcerated in the State Correctional Institution Houtzdale, Clearfield County, has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the institution’s superintendent and corrections officers, alleging they harassed and bullied her son because he filed a multitude of grievances against them.

The inmate, Lance William Heverly, was 39 years old and the father of two children at the time of his death on Nov. 21, 2024.

According to a news release from Houtzdale SCI last November, Heverly was near the end of a five- to 10-year sentence for aggravated assault that occurred in Lancaster County.

He had been in the Houtzdale facility since February 2022.

Heverly was found “unresponsive” in his cell during the afternoon hours of Nov. 21 and, the news release reported, attempts by officers to provide life-saving aid were unsuccessful.

A lawsuit filed this week in the federal District Court in Johns­town by Philadelphia attorney Dylan Hastings claims that Heverly, although a difficult prisoner, was in the throes of a mental health crisis that officers knew about, but ignored.

“Lance was irrational, not eating, not sleeping, emotionally detached, irate, sad, anxious, withdrawn and physically deteriorating leading up to his death,” according to the lawsuit filed by Hastings on behalf of his mother, Diane L. Kauffman of Coatesville.

He had sought help for his mental health issues on many occasions, but his requests were ignored, according to the petition.

Heverly, it was noted, had aroused the ire of the officers in charge of the prison’s Restrictive Housing Unit by filing 18 grievances.

Prison staff, the lawsuit alleges, had responded by retaliating against Heverly, revoking his privileges to take showers, make phone calls and “even refusing to provide his meals,” the lawsuit states.

It also charges that Heverly made 10 requests to see a mental health specialist, but they “were all ignored.”

Heverly’s isolation in the RHU is a key factor in the story of his death, Hastings emphasized.

“Isolation (of RHU inmates) has well-documented, severe and often irreversible effects on inmates’ psychological health,” he stressed.

He charged in the Heverly petition that failure to provide adequate psychological care amounts to violations of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments.

The crisis that led to Heverly’s death occurred that morning when the inmate appeared before the prison’s Post Release Control Committee asking to be readmitted into the prison’s general population.

The committee rejected his request and told him he would not be able to apply for reentry for another 90 days.

“Lance was visibly distraught and upset at learning his fate,” his attorney argues.

Officers further provoked him by taking away his lunch, which caused him to scream that he was “hanging it up.”

He covered his cell window — an action that is prohibited.

“At this point, it was obvious Heverly was suicidal,” the lawsuit states.

Other prisoners became concerned, yelling for officers to check on Heverly’s well-being.

“Several of Lance’s neighboring inmates began pressing their emergency call buttons and screaming for corrections defendants to check on Lance, but they ignored them,” the lawsuit charges.

An hour later, an officer was able to see through a portion of his covered window and saw Heverly sitting on his bunk with “a ligature around his neck tied to top bunk.”

The lawsuit by Heverly’s mother contends officers were “deliberately indifferent” toward her son’s state of mind, referring to his comment that he intended to “hang it up” and citing the concern of other inmates who were pressing their emergency buttons.

The lawsuit includes as defendants seven corrections officers and Houtzdale Superintendent David Close. It charges the prison with denying Heverly access to medical care.

The lawsuit seeks money damages under state law as well.

Kauffman is the administrator of her son’s estate.

Hastings, although a Philadelphia lawyer, has filed several lawsuits in western Pennsylvania concerning inmate deaths.

He was recently able to settle cases involving a suicide and overdose deaths that occurred in the Clearfield County jail.

He has filed a federal lawsuit in the Middle District of Pennsylvania concerning the suicide death of a Clearfield man, Jeffrey A. Bell Jr., who died in 2024 at SCI Smithfield.

Hastings has also brought a lawsuit against Allegheny County for its treatment of inmates.

His lawsuit against SCI Houtzdale was filed earlier this week.