Lawsuit Alleges Inmate Stabbed Nearly 180 Times as Family Sues CDCR over SVSP Killing

Lawsuit alleges inmate stabbed nearly 180 times as family sues CDCR over SVSP killing

The family of Joseph Mendoza has filed a federal lawsuit against the California Department of Corrections and Salinas Valley State Prison, alleging that officials failed to protect him during a fatal attack.

Family of man stabbed to death in Salinas Valley State Prison files civil rights suit

The family of a man who was stabbed to death in Salinas Valley State Prison has filed a civil rights lawsuit alleging negligence by the prison’s guards, they said at a press conference held Wednesday in Oakland.  Joseph Mendoza, 36, was serving a sentence in the prison in Soledad in Monterey County when he was stabbed almost 180 times by two other inmates in the day room on April 8, 2025, according to the suit filed against the California Depart…