A settlement has been reached in lawsuit regarding the 2021 death of Larry Price Jr. in the Sebastian County Jail. Approved by the Sebastian County Quorum Court on August 20th, the settlement will seek $3 million from Sebastian County and another $3 million from Turn Key Health Clinics, LLC.
The lawsuit was initially filed on January 13th, 2023 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas seeking a jury trial. U.S. District Judge P.K. Holmes III was assigned to handle the case against defendants, Turn Key Health Clinics and Sebastian County. Budge and Heipt, a Seattle-based firm, filed the lawsuit on behalf of the Price family.
Price was arrested in August 2020 after pointing his fingers like a gun in the Fort Smith police station lobby. He had a history of mental illness, as well as several interactions with law enforcement. Fort Smith police arrested Price for terroristic threatening and booking him into the Sebastian County Jail with bail set at $1,000. Because Price could not make bail, he remained in the county jail, often times in solitary confinement.
Price began to lose significant weight while incarcerated until he eventually passed away from malnutrition after just over year in the Sebastian County Jail. The family alleges he was not provided mental health care, leading to malnutrition.
Turn Key Health Clinics was the health provider for the Sebastian County Detention Center and a Louisiana corrections officer hired by attorneys to review the case, Catherine Fontenot, says that Price’s treatment was “cruel and inhumane” as details about his confinement and death reached national headlines.
Rodney Price, brother to Larry Price Jr., says that he hopes the settlement will result in changes to the criminal justice system.
“What happened to my brother was inexcusable. No one deserves to be treated the way they treated him. We wanted justice. We wanted to expose the cruelty of Larry’s confinement and show the public what occurred. And we wanted those responsible for mistreating him to be held accountable. With the help of our attorneys, we believe we achieved those goals. While no amount of money could bring my brother back, this victory will help give our family some closure as we move forward. And we hope and pray that it will lead to changes in how our jails treat people in their custody and will save lives in the future,” Rodney Price said.
According to a statement from Budge and Heipt, this settlement is the largest known jail death settlement in Arkansas history.
“The size of this settlement reflects the magnitude of the atrocity that occurred,” said Erik Heipt, one of the lead attorneys representing the Price family. “We were honored to represent Mr. Price’s family in their pursuit of justice, and we hope that this historic result sends a powerful message to every single jail and prison in America that this type of blatant disregard for human life will not be tolerated.”
According to officials, there have yet to be any criminal or civil actions against any Sebastian County employee involving the death of Price. Sebastian County Prosecutor Dan Shue says that numerous medical issues, including a positive COVID-19 test, pointed to Price’s “natural” cause of death.
“Considering the totality of the circumstances, particularly the findings of the autopsy, and the applicable law, no criminal charges can be brought,” Shue stated in a letter to the Arkansas State Police on January 5th, 2022.
WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI