The appellate panel said the decision should act as a guide for future disciplinary actions against inmates
TRENTON -- A convicted killer spent too much time in solitary confinement for throwing a bucket of feces, urine and hot water on two corrections officers, a state appellate panel said on Thursday.
Rigoberto Mejia Although the Appellate Division's published decision doesn't return to Rigoberto Mejia any of the 3.5 years he spent in administrative segregation, it does help New Jersey Department of Corrections administrators establish guidelines to treat inmates more fairly in future disciplinary actions, the panel said.
"We anticipate that the requirement for the consideration and articulation of sanctioning factors by hearing officers this opinion imposes will assure that sanctioning of state prisoners becomes more 'fair and equitable,' a state goal of the DOC," the 17-page decision concluded.
Mejia, 57, who is serving 40 years in New Jersey State Prison for murder, threw a bucket of hot water, feces and urine on a corrections officer outside his cell on July 15, 2013. The substance hit another corrections officer who was below Mejia's cell, the court document said.
When the officers tried to get into his cell, Mejia tied a bed sheet to the door.
At an administrative hearing, Mejia, who claimed he felt the officer "wanted to jump him," was found guilty of two counts of throwing bodily fluids, tampering with or blocking any locked device and disruptive conduct.
The hearing officer imposed as a penalty 1,275 days of administrative segregation, 30 days of disciplinary detention, 90 days' loss of television, phone and radio privileges and 60 days' loss of recreation privileges. He was also prohibited from having 910 days count toward the day of his potential release on parole.
In two appeals, the Department of Corrections upheld his conviction and penalties.
But the appellate panel, consisting of judges Jose Fuentes, Ellen Koblitz, and Robert Gilson said the sanctions were "arbitrary and unreasonable."
At the most, the court said, Mejia should have spent up to 365 days in solitary confinement.
The panel said that to justify the severe penalty, the Department of Corrections needed more documentation than saying that Mejia's behavior was "disgusting," that it caused the corrections officers to seek medical attention and that he should be held accountable for his actions.
Mejia was sentenced to death for killing a co-worker, Balbino Garcia, in December 1991 at the Breakers Hotel in Spring Lake over $750, but his sentence was converted to 40 years behind bars in 1995.
MaryAnn Spoto may be reached at mspoto@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @MaryAnnSpoto. Find NJ.com on Facebook.