Bobby Templin had been suffering for months with a broken hand while incarcerated in an Idaho prison, when shared your story with the Idaho statesman. His thumb was broken while prison staff tried to control a prisoner fight in January 2023, and he was not seen by a surgeon for six months.
His story was published in the Statesman in mid-October. Seven weeks later, the Idaho Department of Correction filed criminal charges against him over allegations that he punched an IDOC officer during the altercation — an allegation Templin disputes. Templin was charged with assault against a correctional officer and, if convicted, could face up to another five years in prison.
Templin now claims the charge was made in retaliation against him.
Templin’s attorney, Mike French, filed a motion to dismiss the case and said the Department of Correction was retaliating against the prisoner because he “dared to speak out against the persistent medical neglect he suffered at the hands” of the agency.
Ada County has until June 21 to respond. Ada County Prosecutor’s Office spokeswoman Emily Lowe in an email declined to comment on ongoing litigation.
The Idaho Department of Correction did not respond to a request for comment.
Versions of fight and hand injury are different
Templin and IDOC tell different versions of the fight and how the prisoner broke his hand.
According to the motion to dismiss, Templin and other prisoners were drinking, playing cards and watching football on January 29. Templin was on the second-floor balcony overlooking the prison living room when he was approached by suspected gang members who accused him of stealing. his alcohol, the suit said.
Templin said the two men physically attacked him, prompting other gang members and members of a rival gang to join the fight. The document states that more than a dozen prisoners joined the fight, and an IDOC incident report identified 13 prisoners, including Templin, who participated in the brawl. A Statesman review of court records showed that none of the other prisoners were charged in connection with the incident.
An Ada County Sheriff’s Office report on the incident said a corrections officer reported approaching Templin, who was “compliant” and lying face down on the floor. When the officer arrived at Templin, the report said, the prisoner turned and hit the officer in the head and neck with a closed fist.
Templin’s attorney said any contact was accidental and argued that the fight continued around Templin while he was vulnerable on the ground and defending himself when the officer made contact.
“Not knowing who was holding and dragging him, in a defensive maneuver, Bobby reached behind his head to try to push away the person on his back,” French wrote in the motion.
Prison officials said the fracture of the intra-articular base of the metacarpal, sometimes called a Bennett or Rolando fracture, in Templin’s thumb was caused by Templin repeatedly punching a wall. Templin denied this account. He said he felt his hand snap as he was dragged from the living room by corrections officers as he lay on his back, with his hands cuffed behind him.
Records showed the rupture went untreated for six months. When Templin saw a specialist at St. Luke’s hospital in July, the doctor reported that his hand—which he had repeatedly complained about to prison staff—had healed a deformity. An expert told the Statesman that a fracture like Templin’s could put him at high risk for arthritis and potentially cause persistent chronic pain.
Prisoner’s lawyer alleges retaliation
Templin’s attorney said in the motion to dismiss the request that IDOC officials only began communicating with the Ada County Sheriff’s Office about possible charges against Templin when they learned the prisoner was talking to a Statesman reporter.
The court document said IDOC referred the investigation of the fight to the Ada County Sheriff’s Office “for review and follow-up” in the first week of October. The same day, an IDOC investigator emailed the sheriff’s detective asking for information about the case and noted, “We have a news outlet requesting information about this case.” The Statesman story was published on October 12.
Templin’s lawyer said the timing was suspicious as no further action had been taken regarding the fight in eight months.
“It is apparently apparent that IDOC urged ACSO to (re)start its investigation into criminal charges against Bobby in retaliation for Bobby speaking to a reporter about IDOC’s medical negligence,” the court document read. “Suddenly, Ada County — whose sheriff didn’t even bother to gather IDOC investigative reports on the fight for over eight months — charged Bobby with this (weak) criminal case.”
In an emailed statement, Templin’s attorney reiterated his innocence and said he looks forward to the opportunity to present his argument to a judge or jury.
