Henry Pridgen sued two top officials at the state Corrections Department, accusing them of conspiring to have him fired because he wouldn't go along with their disapproval of the way a 2003 prison riot was handled. A Lexington County jury awarded the money Thursday after a nine-day trial, attorney J. Lewis Cromer said.

The state Corrections Department said in a statement it would appeal.

On Oct. 29, 2003, a group of prisoners armed with homemade knives abandoned their meals and held two guards hostage for five hours at Lee Correctional Institution, a maximum-security facility with about 1,700 inmates. The standoff ended peacefully when officials met the inmates' demands by sending a television reporter inside the prison to listen to their complaints.

Following the riot, the prison agency's former inspector general, Charlie Sheppard, and operations director Bob Ward, were critical of a security supervisor and wanted Pridgen to sign off on their accusations, Cromer said. Pridgen refused and was temporarily transferred to another prison. Ultimately, he was fired in May 2004, his attorney said.

Prisons director Jon Ozmint called on legislators to change a state law that he says makes agency employees vulnerable to lawsuits.

"Until lawmakers act, homes, savings, other assets and potentially the retirements of state employees are at risk for agency actions and decisions, even when others made those decisions in their official capacity," Ozmint said.

In a similar lawsuit, a federal jury awarded $510,000 about a year ago to former Lee Correctional warden Calvin Anthony, who was Pridgen's boss.

Anthony sued for civil conspiracy and racial discrimination after he lost his job in June 2004. At the time, prisons officials worried the verdict could open the door for more lawsuits against supervisors.

Anthony's dismissal kept him from the state's retirement incentive program "after 26 years of excellent service," said Cromer, who also was Anthony's attorney.