Guns And Ruses

ACCORDING TO YIDDISH LORE, THE CLASSIC DEFINItion of chutzpah is a man who kills both parents and then throws himself on the mercy of the court as an orphan. Inmates in New York City may be offering a modern illustration: some prisoners may be turning guns on themselves in order to file multimillion- dollar lawsuits against the city -- for failing to provide adequate protection in jail. The city's department of investigation says there are currently at least eight such suits filed or pending, seeking damages of up to $8.5 million. Investigators charge that the majority of the suits involve self-inflicted injuries; none as yet have come to trial. Since mid-1987, 12 inmates and one correction officer have been wounded by gunfire in city jails, according to the department; also, five prison employees have been arrested for smuggling guns into jail. If proved, the city's charges of self-inflicted wounds would make the criminals their own victims and perhaps the only ones who end up paying for these alleged crimes.