Sebastian County approves $3 million settlement for prison deaths

The Sebastian County Quorum Court on Tuesday (Aug. 20) approved a $3 million settlement in connection with the death of Larry Price Jr., who died in August 2021 after more than a year of “cruel and inhumane” treatment in the Sebastian County Jail.

On January 13, 2023, a lawsuit seeking a jury trial was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas. The defendants were Sebastian County and Turn Key Health Clinics, the company hired to provide medical care at the prison after Price's death.

Tuesday's vote on the settlement included an appropriations ordinance that was not part of the public agenda for the meeting. Attorney Jacob Owens, representing the county, and Sebastian County Sheriff Hobe Runion were prepared to discuss the matter, but were never called upon. Instead, Quorum Court members quickly voted to put the appropriations ordinance on the agenda and then quickly voted to approve the appropriations ordinance. The appropriations ordinance was given to Quorum Court members just minutes before they voted to approve it.

The money, if the settlement is approved, will come from the county's general fund, the Justice Facilities Capital Fund, and will be funded by an additional $350,000 from the county's risk management firm. Turn Key Health Clinics, which provided medical care at the jail at the time of Price's death, has reportedly agreed to pay $3 million as part of the settlement.

Runion told Talk Business & Politics he could not comment until the matter was resolved.

In August 2020, Price, who had a history of mental illness and had multiple brushes with police, walked into a Fort Smith police station where he allegedly made verbal threats and pointed fingers in the shape of a gun. He was charged with making terroristic threats and booked into the Sebastian County Jail with bail set at $1,000. Unable to make bail, Price remained in the county jail for more than a year, often in solitary confinement. He died on August 29, 2021. The details of his incarceration and death made national headlines.

Catherine Fontenot, a Louisiana corrections officer hired by Heipt to review the case, said Price's treatment by Sebastian County and Turn Key Health officials was “cruel and inhumane.”

“What happened to Larry Eugene Price Jr. was cruel and inhumane. Numerous individual and collective failures occurred throughout his pretrial detention. In my professional opinion, the acts, omissions and practices described in this report fell well below the standard of care in the correctional system.”

According to a July 5, 2024 letter from attorney Eric Heipt of the Seattle-based law firm Budge and Heipt, which represents the Price family, there was a settlement hearing on July 8 presided over by U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Ford. Heipt's letter states that verdicts in similar cases range from $95 million to $8.3 million.

It is unclear whether the plaintiffs will accept a $6 million settlement. Talk Business & Politics left a message with the plaintiffs' law firm.

Tuesday's settlement hearing included documents sent late last week without media release to the homes of Quorum Court members. The documents, which were previously released government reports and records, were obtained by Talk Business & Politics through a Freedom of Information Act request.

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