The Sebastian County Quorum Court has approved an appropriation of up to $3 million to settle a federal lawsuit filed by the estate of Larry Eugene Price Jr., a mentally ill man who starved to death in the Sebastian County jail. Price, who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and had an IQ of less than 55, had been in jail for over a year after being unable to pay $100 bail while awaiting trial for a minor offense. The lawsuit filed last year described Price’s harrowing experiences in jail, including eating his own feces and drinking his own urine, while he desperately needed mental health care. When Price was found unresponsive and severely underweight, the case prompted outrage and legal action.
Attorneys representing the Price estate are reportedly in talks with the defendants to work out the terms of a settlement, which appears to be nearing completion. A settlement conference took place on July 8, followed by a reassignment of the case to Judge Timothy L. Brooks in U.S. District Court in Fort Smith. In addition to Sebastian County, the lawsuit names Turn Key Health Clinics LLC, its chief mental health officer, and other jail employees as defendants. The lawsuit aims to hold these parties accountable for the neglect and mistreatment of Price during his time in custody. The parties involved are now focused on finalizing the settlement, as progress continues towards resolving this tragic case.
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