$75,000 Settlement in Utah Jail Prisoner’s Suicide
$75,000 Settlement in Utah Jail Prisoner’s Suicide
Officials at the Salt Lake City Jail settled a lawsuit involving a prisoner’s suicide for $75,000. The settlement came in the hanging death of Arthur Henderson.
When he was booked on January 28, 2006, Henderson revealed he was depressed and had suicidal ideations, stating “there is a 60 percent chance I’ll be dead in the morning.” Prior to his booking, Henderson was relieved from his duties from the Lehi Police Department following a confrontation with family members and police. He was also dependent on pain medications.
Jail officials placed him in the Acute Mental Health Unit in a “suicide smock” and gave him medications. After Henderson was found hanging by a bed sheet, his family sued. They alleged jail officials failed to prevent Henderson’s April 19, 2006 death.
The family claimed that Henderson exhibited high risk indicators for self-harm and suicide. While in jail, he had repeatedly banged his head on the floor, swallowed plastic bags from a sack lunch and self-expressed efforts to cut his femoral artery with a broken piece of cast.
The $75,000 settlement, to be paid by the jail’s mental health contractor, MHM, Inc., was termed a “cost of defense” settlement. See: Henderson v. Salt Lake County, USDC, D. Utah, Case No: 08CV272.
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Related legal case
Henderson v. Salt Lake County
| Year | 2008 |
|---|---|
| Cite | USDC, D. Utah, Case No: 08CV272 |
| Level | District Court |
| Conclusion | Settlement |
| Damages | 75,000.00 |