The Jefferson City Correctional Center. (Rudi Keller/Missouri Independent)
The warden fired from Jefferson City Correctional Center in the aftermath of an inmate’s death is suing the state, alleging she lost her job due to age, gender, racial and disability discrimination.
Doris Falkenrath, who was fired on June 13, 2024, filed the lawsuit Aug. 27 in Cole County Circuit Court. When she was fired, the lawsuit states, Falkenrath was told she was being disciplined for failing to cooperate with the criminal investigation into the December 2023, death of Othel Moore that led to felony charges against five corrections officers.
Charges against two of the corrections officers have been dropped and trial dates for the other three – Bryanne Bradshaw, Jacob Case and Justin Leggins — are due to be set later this year. Falkenrath has not been charged with any crimes associated with Moore’s death.
Moore died during a planned sweep of the prison by the Corrections Emergency Response Team, or CERT. Moore, 38, was pepper-sprayed in the face multiple times, had his face improperly covered by a hood that blocked his nose and mouth and left unattended in a cell for more than 30 minutes, according to documents in Cole County Circuit Court for the criminal cases.
Falkenrath says in her lawsuit that she was absent at a family funeral the day Moore died. She was accused by central office leadership of failing to cooperate in the ensuing criminal investigation by the Cole County Sheriff’s Office, the lawsuit states
Falkenrath “fully cooperated with Cole County but left the interview feeling as though she was being blamed for the offender’s death, despite her absence during the CERT operation and the fact that her supervisor… had authorized the CERT,” the lawsuit states.
Falkenrath details instances from her career where she felt she was passed over for promotion, undermined by superiors and retaliated against for being truthful.
“As a direct and proximate result of defendant’s unlawful conduct,” the lawsuit states, “plaintiff has suffered, and will continue to suffer, damages including past and future lost wages and benefits; detrimental job record; career damage and diminished career potential; garden variety mental and emotional distress in the form of embarrassment, degradation, humiliation, anxiety, loss of enjoyment of life, and loss of sleep; pain and suffering; and other nonpecuniary losses.”
Falkenrath’s attorney, David Lunceford, declined a request for comment on the lawsuit.
The department does not comment on pending litigation, spokeswoman Karen Pojmann said in an email to The Independent.
Falkenrath worked for the Department of Corrections from 1999 to 2005, returning in 2009, according to the court filing. She became deputy warden in 2018 at Fulton Reception and Diagnostic Center and was promoted to warden in 2019.
Falkenrath was named warden at Jefferson City Correctional Center in 2021 despite her objections “citing her approaching retirement and her medical condition of multiple sclerosis,” the lawsuit states.
She was, in part, concerned the prison is “a maximum security, violent all-male facility and the lack of support she anticipated as an African American female in that environment.”
In addition to discrimination claims, Falkenrath’s six-count lawsuit also alleges department leadership created a hostile work environment and retaliated illegally.
The lawsuit says former corrections director Anne Precythe, who is white and who retired in 2023, viewed Falkenrath as a “diversity hire” and was condescending about Falkenrath’s abilities.
“(Precythe) was consistently condescending and dismissive,” the lawsuit states.
During one meeting at the Fulton prison, when Falkenrath disagreed with Precythe, she “responded to plaintiff’s disagreement by stating that plaintiff ‘had no idea what good looked like’ and advised plaintiff to seek guidance from a more experienced warden.”
In the retaliation claim, Falkenrath asserts she complained to the director of the Division of Adult Institutions about offensive imagery at the corrections central office, including an image of children in blackface, but no action was taken.
When she complained, the lawsuit states, Falkenrath’s husband’s job at the central office was eliminated.
Falkenrath is seeking to be reinstated with back pay as well as punitive damages for discrimination.
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