Absurdities in society

Scott Anthony Gomez Jr, 22, was an inmate at the Pueblo County, Colo.,jail. He escaped from his cell, made it to the roof ...and fell 40 feet while trying to climb down the outside wall. It was his second escape, but this one cost the county $64,000 to treat the injuries Gomez caused himself. When the county asked him to pay for the medical treatment, Gomez replied by suing in federal court in Denver.

The basis? "Defendants... did next to nothing to ensure that the jail was secure and the plaintiff could not escape," the suit says, and he says he had warned jailers that "there were many ways to get out of the facility."

That's right: it was the jail's fault he escaped, because it was too easy. And therefore any injuries he sustained should be paid for by the county. Surely a bit of "pain and suffering" would be welcome too -- the suit doesn't specified the monetary damages he wants. Gomez's attorney had no comment, but Pueblo County Sheriff Kirk Taylor did: he says the suit "doesn't pass the straight-face test." The county has spent $1.2 million for security improvements, and there have been no more escapes -- by Gomez or anyone else.