Florida teenager Wayne Treacy is suing the Broward County school board and sheriff's department for denying him adequate education while he is in jail.
Treacy is being charged, as an adult, with attempted murder in the beating of Josie Lou Ratley.
Ratley, now 17, was left brain damaged after being brutally beaten and stomped on with steel-toed boots. The incident allegedly occurred after a text message exchange between the two teens.
The trial is ongoing -- and Treacy's lawyers are currently pursuing a mental health defense.
Now, Treacy has filed a lawsuit alleging he is receiving inadequate education while in jail.
The Sun Sentinel reports,
State law mandates education for underage suspects charged with crimes, and jails work with school districts to make sure 25 hours of instruction per week is provided in juvenile detention facilities. But the situation gets complicated with those charged as adults because they are no longer in juvenile custody and, until now, no one has claimed to be shortchanged.
Treacy is not seeking financial compensation, just an increase in educational resources available to him behind bars.
According to NBC Miami, the 16-year-old claims that he is receiving less than five hours a week of instruction.
Treacy has yet to be convicted of the crime and his lawyer argues that the inadequate education will inhibit the teen's life if he is acquitted.
Treacy's lawyer told The Sun Sentinel,
"What about the kid who's found not guilty?" [Greg] Durden said. "What do we tell him after he's been in jail, not gotten any education, and then gets released with no training except being an inmate?"
Superintendent Jim Notter has said the school district will be looking into the issue to see if Treacy is receiving adequate schooling.
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