Wacky Wednesday: Prisoner Robert Lee Brock Sues”¦ Himself

When You Challenge Yourself… You Always Lose.

Lawsuits are a common thing in the United States. People sue one another all the time. They sue companies, dog owners, and everyone in between. Many times, the suits are completely justified. Sometimes, they are frivolous. Then there are times when the lawsuits are downright strange. Let’s take the example of Robert Lee Brock, a prisoner who was doing time at the Indian Creek Correctional Center. Who did he decide to sue? As you can see from the title, he decided that he would sue himself. He claimed that he had violated his own civil rights.

What Did He Do?

He claims that he was drunk when he committed the crime that landed him in prison, and because he was unable to control his actions when he was drunk, he was violating his civil rights. Brock says that his drinking alcohol caused him to violate his religious beliefs. The crime bought him 23 years for breaking and entering and grand larceny.

There are a number of stupid criminals out there, but this one really did feel that he could get away with suing himself. Although, it was enough to make people wonder just what he really wanted to accomplish.

Why Did He Really Sue?

There are actually a couple of theories as to why he really tried this approach, and the truth probably lies somewhere in between. First, people felt that he was suing for money, and that he really thought the court would award him money, paid for by the government since he was unable to work and make the payments on his own. He actually said that he wanted the “state to pay it in my behalf since I can’t work and am a ward of the state.” This is a prisoner who takes the word audacity to an entirely new and entertaining level.

While money might have been a partial reasoning, there’s another theory out there that probably played a part as well. Suing yourself seems “crazy”, and that’s just what Brock was thinking. He did not like serving time in an actual prison – as you can imagine – and thought that by suing himself, it would make him seem mentally unstable. He thought this would help to get him transferred to a mental institution rather than spending the rest of his time in prison. Chances are that Brock would have been happy if either of those ploys would have worked.

Of Course It Didn’t Work

While the justice system in United States certainly does have some flaws, you don’t have to worry in this case. Taxpayer money is not paying out millions to Broc for suing himself, and he did not receive his transfer. Just like all of the other criminals, he’s actually paying for his crime.

This is certainly one of the more entertaining types of lawsuits that have actually gone all the way to court, but it goes to show that no matter how clever you might think you are, the old adage that crime doesn’t pay rings true. Sometimes when you challenge yourself you win and lose at the same time… other times you lose all around.

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