Brooklyn Federal Jury Awards Thomas Donohue $3.25 Million After Armor Correctional Health Services Violated His Constitutional Rights
BROOKLYN FEDERAL JURY AWARDS THOMAS DONOHUE $3.25 MILLION AFTER ARMOR CORRECTIONAL HEALTH SERVICES VIOLATED HIS CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS
ARMOR CORRECTIONAL HEALTH SERVICES FOUND TO BE “DELIBERATELY INDIFFERENT” TO SERIOUS MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS OF INMATES IN FEDERAL LAWSUIT
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Hempstead, NY – On June 26, 2026, a federal jury in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York awarded $3.25 million to Thomas Donohue after finding that Armor Correctional Health Services and one of its physicians, Dr. Vincent Manetti, violated Donohue’s constitutional rights by denying him prescribed psychiatric medication while he was incarcerated at the Nassau County Correctional Center. Following a multi-day trial before United States Magistrate Judge Peggy Kuo, the jury found that the Defendants acted with deliberate indifference to Mr. Donohue’s serious mental health needs.
On September 18, 2014, Mr. Donohue entered the Nassau County Correctional Center. During processing, he underwent an evaluation performed by Dr. Vincent Manetti, employed by Armor Correctional Health Services, the private company contracted by Nassau County to provide healthcare services to individuals at the jail. For approximately twenty years before his incarceration, Mr. Donohue had been prescribed psychotropic medication to manage chronic depression, acute anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and panic attacks. His prescription was active and could have been readily verified through his pharmacy. Dr. Manetti conducted only a brief evaluation of Mr. Donohue, did not make an effort to verify the prescription at Mr. Donohue’s pharmacy, and refused to give Mr. Donohue his medication. In fact, Dr. Manetti told Mr. Donohue that “things are different now and we don’t hand out pills anymore – deal with it”. When Mr. Donohue filed grievances reporting the despicable care that he was being subjected to, Sheriff Sposato did nothing but support Dr. Manetti’s inaction and referred Mr. Donohue’s complaints right back to the offending party – Armor Correctional Health Services.
The cruel decision to leave Mr. Donahue without the medication he relied upon for two decades caused him to endure severe depression, debilitating anxiety, recurring panic attacks, and emotional suffering for nine months while incarcerated, symptoms that were previously controlled through medication. Armor Correctional Health Services and Dr. Vincent Manetti left Mr. Donahue to suffer in a circumstance that can only be described as psychologically torturous.
An additional aspect of the lawsuit alleged that Mr. Donahue’s experience was not an isolated incident, but that Armor Correctional Health Services maintained policies, customs, and practices that resulted in incarcerated individuals being denied access to critical medical care, including the denial of necessary medication. The jury ultimately concluded that Armor Correctional Health Services bore responsibility for violating Mr. Donohue’s constitutional rights and imposed $3,00,000 in punitive damages, $150,000 in compensatory damages against Armor Correctional Health Services and Dr. Manetti, and $100,000 in punitive damages against Dr. Manetti.