WHITE v. DECKER et al

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA
INDIANAPOLIS DIVISION
WILLIAM A. WHITE, 	)
)
Plaintiff, 	)
)
v. 	) 	Case No. 1:22-cv-02405-TWP-TAB
)
ROBERT KENNETH DECKER, 	)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 	)
)
Defendants. 	)
ORDER DENYING MOTION TO SHOW CAUSE
This matter is before the Court on Plaintiff Willaim A. White's Motion to Order Southern
Health Partners, Inc. ("SHP"), to Appear and Show Cause Why It Should Not Be Held in Criminal
Contempt of the Court's Order of April 20, 2026, Pursuant to Fed.R.Crim.P.42(a) (Dkt. 398). For
the reasons explained below, the motion is denied.
Plaintiff William A. White ("White"), who is incarcerated in the Federal Bureau of Prisons
("BOP") and is currently housed at the United States Penitentiary Cumberland FCI in Cumberland,
Maryland, sued inmate Robert K. Decker ("Decker"), and the United States of America 	("the
United States") under the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2671 et seq. ("FTCA"). This matter
was before the Court for a bench trial conducted on June 29, 2026 and July 16, 2026.
In the instant motion, White argues that during his transport from the Indianapolis
courthouse after the June 29, 2026 trial date, he was ordered to be transported with all his
appropriate medication and housed in the Pike County Detention Center in Pike County, Kentucky.
(Dkt. 398 at 2). While detained, the nurse on duty, (an employee of SHP) told him that they would
not provide him with his prescribed medication for his PTSD—Mirtazapine—because corporate
policy did not allow her to honor prescriptions for this medication. Id. at 3. In essence, White seeks
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injunctive relief as he asks this Court to order SHP to appear so that this Court can hold it in
criminal contempt and order SHP to provide White with the appropriate medication. Id.
This motion is denied for two reasons. First, White cannot compel criminal charges against
a corporation for failing to comply with Court orders. Only the United States may commence
federal criminal charges; a private individual has no right to compel such a prosecution. See Leeke
v. Timmerman, 454 U.S. 83 (1981) (holding that inmates lacked standing to force issuance of arrest
warrants of correctional officers for beatings); Ragsdale v. Turnock, 941 F.2d 501, 509 (7th Cir.
1991) (private persons generally have no right to enforce criminal statutes or to sue under them
unless the statute also creates a private right of action. (Posner, J., concurring), cert. denied, 502
U.S. 1035 (1992).
Second, White alleges in the Motion that he was previously denied healthcare while in
transit and he seeks his medication. However, this request for injunctive relief is wholly unrelated
to the underlying claims in this matter, the assault and battery claim against Decker and negligence
claim against the United States. The relief White seeks is outside the scope of the claim that
is proceeding in this case. "A preliminary injunction is always appropriate to grant intermediate
relief of the same character as that which may be granted finally." De Beers Consol. Mines v.
United States, 325 U.S. 212, 220 (1945). It is not appropriate when "it deals with a matter lying
wholly outside the issues in the suit." Id. And, regardless, it appears that White is no longer housed
at the Pike County Detention Center, as he has now been returned to the Cumberland FCI.
Accordingly, White's Motion to Order Southern Health Partners, Inc., to Appear and Show
Cause Why It Should Not Be Held in Criminal Contempt of the Court's Order of April 20, 2026,
Pursuant to Fed.R.Crim.P.42(a), Dkt. [398], is DENIED.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
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Date: 9/28/2026
Distribution:
WILLIAM A WHITE
13888-084
CUMBERLAND - FCI
CUMBERLAND FEDERAL CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION
Inmate Mail/Parcels
P.O. BOX 1000
CUMBERLAND, MD 21501
ROBERT KENNETH DECKER
c/o Kpep
537 Chicago Ave.
Kalamazoo, MI 49048
All Electronically Registered Counsel
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