SANTA FE, NM – On January 5, 2026, the wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of the estate of Kesley Vial, a 23-year-old Brazilian asylum seeker who died by suicide in 2022 at the Torrance County Detention Facility (TCDF) in Estancia, New Mexico will go to trial in the First Judicial District Court of New Mexico.
The case addresses serious systemic failures and shortcomings in mental health care at the Torrance County Detention Facility and CoreCivic’s extreme negligence that resulted in Vial’s tragic and preventable death. CoreCivic had already been on notice that it was endangering the lives of people detained at this facility, including when federal inspectors called for ICE to immediately remove all detained people due to health and safety concerns.
On the day of his fatal suicide attempt, Vial’s mental health was severely deteriorating. He had expected to be imminently transferred out of the facility to be deported but learned that morning that his deportation date had been postponed yet again. Despite his obvious signs of extreme distress, CoreCivic staff failed to take appropriate precautions. Instead, they allowed him to take a bedsheet to an unoccupied cell to which he was not assigned, locked him in that cell alone, and left him there unsupervised for almost 30 minutes.
WHAT: Youngers v. Core Civic, Inc. jury trial
WHO:
- Plaintiff Joleen K. Youngers, in her capacity as the Personal Representative of the Wrongful Death Estate of Kesley Vial, represented by:
- American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico; Benoit Legal, PLLC; Touchet Law Firm, PC; and Rachel Higgins, Attorney at Law
WHEN: Monday, January 5, 2026, 9:00 a.m.
The trial will last approximately a week and a half.
WHERE: First Judicial District Court of New Mexico, 225 Montezuma Ave, Santa Fe, NM 87501
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