LEAVENWORTH, Kan. — A former Leavenworth Detention Center officer is sharing her story as the city of Leavenworth fights with the facility’s owner, CoreCivic, in federal court.

The city filed that lawsuit on March 31. They claim CoreCivic attempted to re-open the facility as an ICE detention center without a necessary permit.

Marcia Levering worked at the prison four years ago. She was a corrections officer and then a case counselor.

“I am legally disabled now,” Levering said.

The City’s lawsuit says CoreCivic was accused of multiple violations while it was operating the prison. It closed in 2021, following a White House executive order.

That same year, Levering was brutally attacked while on the clock.

“Never in a million years would I think this would be my life,” she said.

Levering was attacked by an inmate who threw boiling water on her and then kicked, punched and stabbed her several times before attacking another officer.

That evening, she says they were short-staffed, a problem that seemed to be a regular occurrence.

She’s had to endure several surgeries and is now paralyzed on one side of her face. Hearing about CoreCivic trying to reopen as a detention center devastated her.

“It was already dangerous before; it’s going to be twice as dangerous, I suspect, because it’s the same people, same rules.”

And she fears the same problems will be experienced: improper training, enduring long shifts, a shortage of staff and inhumane conditions for inmates.