SOUTHEAST BOISE, Idaho — The family of a late Idaho inmate has filed a federal civil-rights lawsuit accusing the Idaho Department of Correction of failing to protect him behind bars.
Milo Warnock was jailed on a felony DUI and later beaten to death by his cellmate inside the Idaho State Correctional Center. The lawsuit, filed this week in U.S. District Court, claims IDOC violated Warnock’s constitutional rights and caused his wrongful death.
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“Milo was held by the Idaho Department of Correction on a DUI but placed with a very dangerous prisoner and ended up being brutally, savagely beaten and killed in his cell without any protection from IDOC or their staff,” said Ritchie Eppink, co-counsel for Warnock’s family.
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Court records show Warnock, a non-violent offender, was housed in maximum-security G Block, an area described in the lawsuit as chronically understaffed. He was placed in a cell with James Johnson, a seven-time convicted felon with a documented history of violence. Johnson later pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison.
The lawsuit alleges that for more than an hour, no correctional officer conducted required safety checks while Warnock was being attacked. Other inmates reportedly heard the assault but no officers responded in time.
“Other prisoners heard this happening, but no one came to Milo's aid,” Eppink said.
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Attorneys for the Warnock family say both Warnock and Johnson warned staff their housing placement was dangerous and asked to be separated.
“They needed to separate the two of them. And still, the Department of Correction did not take action to protect Milo and the inevitable happened,” Eppink said.
Warnock’s sister, Hallie Johnson, sent Idaho News 6 a statement calling her brother’s death inexcusable.
“The most basic expectation we should have for our incarcerated population is that they be kept safe. The state sends people to prison to hold them accountable for their actions. When the state fails in this most basic expectation, it too, should be held accountable. The level of disregard my brother suffered at the hands of prison employees is inexcusable. The only acceptable number of murders at the Idaho Department of Correction is zero.”
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Former IDOC employee Bryan McClure said Warnock’s death should have been prevented and points to systemic issues inside the prison system.
“In this situation, IDOC is negligent and criminally so,” McClure said.
The lawsuit alleges multiple violations of federal law, including dangerous housing placement, ignoring requests to move, chronic understaffing and failure to conduct proper safety checks. It also brings a wrongful-death claim on behalf of Warnock’s disabled adult son.
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“Prison is punishment, but Milo was never sentenced to death,” Eppink said.
The Idaho Department of Correction did not respond to Idaho News 6’s request for comment before this story aired.
