Lawsuit: Prison Officials Could Have Stopped 'Assassination' Of San Quentin 6 Member

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - A federal lawsuit claims California officials could have stopped what it says was the "assassination" of a notorious California inmate days after he was released into the general prison population last year.

The wrongful death lawsuit says prison officials should have known that 71-year-old Hugo Pinell would be quickly targeted at a maximum security prison east of Sacramento. He previously spent decades in isolation.

Pinell's daughter recently filed the suit. It claims, without providing evidence, that correctional officials bet among themselves on how long the Pinell would survive.

He was known as one of the San Quentin 6 for participating in a bloody 1971 escape attempt at San Quentin State Prison that left six dead.

Corrections department spokeswoman Terry Thornton said Thursday that she can't comment on the lawsuit.