CCA Pays $400,000 in Suicide Death of Tennessee Juvenile
CCA Pays $400,000 in Suicide Death of Tennessee Juvenile
Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) paid $400,000 to settle a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the family of a juvenile who committed suicide at the Shelby Training Center in Tennessee.
The complaint alleged that prisoner Alex E. Bass was known to CCA and its employees to suffer “depression, suicidal ideations, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.” CCA acknowledged upon receiving him on November 27, 2002, that he required evaluation and treatment by a psychiatrist.
Guards Glenn Harris and Albert Jones transported Bass to a Juvenile court hearing on February 13, 2003, and should have known from his “behavior and comments” that he “was behaving in a manner consistent with one who has been classified as a high risk of suicide,” the complaint alleged.
Bass attempted suicide by self-strangulation on February 14 by wrapping a bed sheet around his neck and then sitting on the floor. Attempts to revive him failed, and he died on February 23.
The December 2006 confidential settlement was obtained by PLN via public records request. It provides Bass’s father, William Bass, receive $359,000, and Methodist healthcare receive $41,000. Bass was represented by Germantown attorney Ronald D. Krelstein.
See: Bass v. Corrections Corporation of America, Circuit Court of Shelby County, Tennessee, Case No. CT-005752-03
As a digital subscriber to Prison Legal News, you can access full text and downloads for this and other premium content.
Already a subscriber? Login
Related legal case
Bass v. Corrections Corporation of America
| Year | 2006 |
|---|---|
| Cite | Circuit Court of Shelby County, Tennessee, Case No. CT-005752-03 |
| Level | State Trial Court |
| Conclusion | Settlement |
| Damages | 400,000.00 |