Inmate's rape case to proceed to jury

PITTSBURGH - A jury will decide whether Lisa Michelle Lambert, the Lancaster County woman who murdered a teenage romantic rival more than 15 years ago, was raped and assaulted by state prison staff, as she claimed in a civil lawsuit.

Lambert, 34, filed a lawsuit in 1996 in which she accused administrators at the State Correctional Institution-Cambridge Springs of doing nothing to prevent the assaults and also claimed she was videotaped during a strip search.

"Plaintiff paints a disturbing picture," a federal judge found. "She alleges during the time period at issue, SCI-Cambridge Springs was a virtual haven of sexual activity between Department of Corrections employees and inmates."

Lambert alleged the assaults occurred while she was serving her life sentence for the 1991 murder of Laurie Show, a 16-year-old Lancaster high school sophomore. Lambert stalked and murdered Show because she thought the teen was romantically involved with Lambert's boyfriend, Lawrence Yunkin.

Lambert's case helped lead to anti-stalking laws in Pennsylvania and spawned a 2000 USA Network TV movie, The Stalking of Laurie Show.

That year, both sides agreed to close the lawsuit while Lambert appealed her conviction. After the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Lambert's appeal in June 2005, the lawsuit was reopened, prompting attorneys for the state to ask that it be dismissed for lack of evidence.

U.S. District Judge Sean McLaughlin found enough credible evidence in depositions and documents collected to order June 25 that the prison case should continue and be heard by a jury.

The judge found former prison Superintendent William Wolfe and prison official Keith Bartlett "fostered an attitude of acquiescence toward such pervasive misconduct."

Bartlett, who has since died, investigated sexual misconduct at the prison before he was demoted after sexually harassing and having romantic relationships with female subordinates, the judge found.

The Attorney General's Office represents all the defendants except for James Eicher, the guard Lambert alleges repeatedly raped her. Eicher lost his job and was sentenced to 11/2 to 3 years in prison after he was convicted in 1996 for his alleged contact with Lambert.

Kevin Harley, a spokesman for Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett, said Lambert willingly entered into a sexual relationship with Eicher.

In a handwritten response to Lambert's lawsuit, Eicher denied the allegations.

Lambert is now housed in a New Jersey prison.