A federal prisoner has filed a lawsuit seeking $2.6 million from the county jail, alleging that he was stabbed in the face with a pencil by a fellow inmate.

The suit filed by Edward Calloway against the U.S. Marshals Service, Cambria County Prison, its warden, and the Cambria County Sheriff raises the issue of who is responsible for the care of a federal prisoner being held in a county facility.

The lawsuit includes a letter from the general counsel for the marshals contending that the local jail is responsible because the jails are considered independent contractors when they hold federal prisoners.

Another letter, however, from the state prison inspector maintains that the state Department of Corrections was not responsible because the inmate accused of the April 12, 2003 stabbing was a county prisoner.