Wayne County to compensate $7 Million for Inmate’s Brutal Murder
County observes largest settlement ever covering systematic failures within jail
Wayne County, Michigan, has confirmed a settlement payment of $7 million, over a brutal incident within its jail premises where an inmate was heartlessly murdered. The murder, which was termed ‘heinous’, revealed several signs of systemic failures within the jail setup.
The payout was authorized by the Wayne County Commission last month, representing the single largest negligence pay-out in the county’s history since at least 2010. Commissioner Sam Baydoun mentioned, “Considering the potential exposure of liability, it could have been worse.”
Fatal Encounter inside Jail
The victim, Thomas Carr, a 53-year-old inmate, arrived at the Wayne County jail last year to serve a sentence for a DUI. Within a span of 24 hours, he suffered a fatal beating from his cellmate, Claude Lewis. Authorities suggest that the attack may have been ongoing for several hours.
Lewis had a criminal record, including 8 previous convictions, some of which were for aggravated battery and felon in possession of a firearm. Despite his turbulent past, he was placed in the same cell as Carr. A red warning in the Law Enforcement Information Network (LEIN) indicated that Lewis might injure himself or others, and also that he had been involuntarily committed a year before.
Missed Warnings and Tragic Consequence
Despite these glaring indicators, Lewis was not placed in the county’s mental health floor, a location offering individual cells and closer supervision. Sources say Lewis was indeed flagged for additional mental health screening during jail intake, but the screening never took place.
Thomas Carr was brutally attacked and killed before any of Lewis’s mental health issues could be addressed. The murder led to an immediate lawsuit against the county for negligence, which culminated in a devastating whopping $7 million settlement—the largest in the county’s history to date.
Official Response and Moving Forward
Sheriff Raphael Washington blamed the tragedy on the failures of a single jail deputy, who was not present during the attack. However, Commissioner Glenn Anderson firmly believes that the problem is bigger, and cannot be pinned on just one individual.
The county is expected to fund $5 million of the settlement from its own coffers, while insurance will cover the remaining $2 million. As such, the tragic incident has sparked intensive debates about the vulnerabilities in the county’s jail system and the need for comprehensive reform.
In an official statement acknowledging the tragedy and the subsequent settlement, Wayne County conveyed its sympathy to the Carr family while expressing the hope that “this resolution brings the Carr family some form of closure and allows the healing process of their tragic loss to begin.”
