Video: A prison punch nearly started a riot, the victim inmate was hurt so bad that he needed face surgery
Brandon Case, 37, is an inmate at Central Prison in Raleigh, NC. Brandon was punched in the face by another inmate, the attack caused Brandon to sustain intense injuries that required reconstructive face surgery.
Now Brandon is suing the Central Prison and the state of North Carolina for jail guard negligence. The lawsuit was just appealed in March 2026. Click here to see more prison fight videos.
Brandon was in prison for murder. The attack was in January 2020. Brandon was an inmate on the first floor with other general population prisoners. Inmates classified as “safekeepers” stayed on the second floor. Safekeepers are inmates that are awaiting trial, that have been moved from the county jail to the prison because they are high risk for violence, rioting, and escape.
Jail staff was suppose to keep the first floor inmates separate from the second floor ‘safekeepers’ inmates, but the jail left the sally port doors open that allowed the inmates from both floors to intermingle.
Brandon had just finished getting his hair cut when a second floor inmate punched him in the face unexpectedly without provocation.
Brandon fell to the ground and the suspect inmate continued to attack him. A female jail guard tries to intervene and stop the attack. The suspect then puts his hands up and stops.
Brandon has blood running down his face and is able to walk away in pain. Brandon was taken to Duke University Hospital. Doctors had to cut/separate a nerve in Brandon’s face and put 3 plates and 21 screws in his face during surgery.
Brandon’s face is permanently disfigured and he remains in constant pain. Three days after the attack a Central Prison supervisor sent out a memorandum to jail guards that separating ‘safekeepers’ inmates from other inmates is policy and of extreme importance; as well as keeping the sally port doors closed.
Brandon filed a lawsuit against the prison and the state of North Carolina. In 2024, republican appointed right wing U.S. District Judge James Dever ruled in favor of the jail guards that are represented by the N.C. Attorney General’s Office.
Judge Dever said that the guards were negligent, but didn’t violate Brandon’s constitutional right to safety in prison.
Brandon’s lawyers appealed that horrible decision and won on appeal. Two democratic President Joe Biden appointed federal judges ruled that the prison violated Brandon’s rights and they ordered that the case be returned to court for jury trial. Only one republican appointed judge on the appeals court ruled that the guards did not violate the inmate’s rights, but that right wing judge’s opinion lost to the majority one to two.
Now the case will go back to court for a jury to decide how much if any money should be awarded to Brandon. Republican appointed federal judges have a harsh tendency to rule against the civilian public, especially in civil rights and police wrongful death lawsuits.
Instead those right wing judges usually rule in favor of the big company or the jail, or police officers etc. Lawyers familiar with federal court say that “power keeps power in power.”
