Federal Judge Pregerson ruled on March 13 that family of Francisco Castaneda could sue the federal government for denying him medical care. Castaneda, an undocumented worker, died of penile cancer on Feb. 26, 2007, while in the custody of the U.S. government. He was 36.
Castaneda had told staff members at the San Diego Correctional Facility about a lesion on his penis in March 2006. He was later diagnosed with cancer, and several doctors requested a biopsy. For 11 months, the federal Division of Immigration Health Services denied the request.
In a strongly worded decision, Judge Pregerson called the case one of the most egregious violations of the constitutional prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment that the court has ever encountered.
