A Wisconsin prison guard solicited an inmate to kill her former son-in-law, then framed him for prison rules violations when he refused to do it, the inmate claimed in a $2 million federal civil rights lawsuit filed Wednesday.

The claims, made by inmate Jeffrey Rice, 25, of Milwaukee, were investigated by the state Department of Corrections and led to the termination of former Sgt. Lori Gross, who wanted Rice to help her with a custody dispute between Gross' daughter and her daughter's ex-husband, said Keith Belzer, a La Crosse attorney on Rice's legal team.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Milwaukee, alleges Gross, along with prison officer Brenda Chapman and Lt. Jeannie Wachs, violated Rice's constitutional rights to due process, equal protection and freedom from cruel and unusual punishment while he was an inmate at Dodge Correctional Institution in Waupun.

The lawsuit also names as defendants Dodge Warden Cathy Jess and Peter Huibregtse, warden at Wisconsin Secure Program Facility in Boscobel. The lawsuit alleges Huibregtse approved Rice's classification and placement at Boscobel.

The lawsuit seeks $2 million in damages to compensate Rice for the time he spent in prison unjustly and in isolation.

"But for the wrongdoing and conduct of the defendants alleged below, Jeffrey Rice would have been eligible for (the Earned Release Program) and (the Challenge Incarceration Program) at an earlier date and thus would have been released on extended supervision at an earlier date," the lawsuit states.

State DOC spokesman John Dipko said he could not comment on the DOC's investigation or the lawsuit but confirmed Gross no longer worked for the DOC as of March 2007. He said a criminal investigation was referred to the Dodge County Sheriff's Department. No charges have been filed.

Belzer said Gross was terminated after a number of hearings, and one other person was disciplined.

Gross was at work late Wednesday afternoon and could not be reached for comment, said her husband, Glenn Gross.

"She's not going to have any comment until she speaks to an attorney," he said.

Belzer said the case progressed after a guard captain at Dodge interviewed Rice, investigated his claims and found them to be credible.

According to the lawsuit:

Rice was serving a four-year prison sentence for robbery on May 6, 2006, when he was moved to Gross' unit at Dodge. By October, they had become friends. Gross gave Rice extra privileges, brought him food and shared personal information with him, including information about a custody dispute between her daughter and her daughter's ex-husband.

About Nov. 1, 2006, Gross asked Rice if he or somebody he knows would murder her former son-in-law in exchange for $2,500 and an airline ticket to Hawaii, where the murder would take place.

With her former son-in-law dead, Gross told Rice, she could get custody of her granddaughter. Rice declined to take the offer.

A few days later, Gross asked Rice if he knew any women who would meet her former son-in-law, seduce him and falsely accuse him of rape. She brought him information about her son-in-law, including his address and phone number and Gross' phone number.

Again, Rice declined. Gross became angry at him and accused him "of being like all the other men in her life."

After his refusal, Gross and the other guards conspired to falsely accuse Rice of committing violations of prison rules, such as having a razor blade in his cell.

For the infractions Rice was placed in temporary lockup at Dodge until December 2006 when he was moved to Waupun, where he remained until his transfer to Boscobel in May 2008.