Lawsuit against Shelby County jail warden dismissed over stabbing inmate

Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner and Jail Warden Kirk Fields, two high-ranking officials who oversee the Shelby County Jail at 201 Poplar, have been fired from a civil lawsuit filed by the family of an inmate who was stabbed to death in a courtroom detention room.

Although the two co-defendants were dismissed from the case on August 13, the case remains active because Shelby County, as an administrative entity, was also sued and did not file a motion to dismiss the case.

The lawsuit was filed in January, about three months after inmate Deion Byrd was stabbed in the neck by another inmate at 201 Poplar Prison.

Shortly after the lawsuit was filed, Bonner and Fields argued that the case against them should be dismissed. In their motion, they cited four reasons.