Maryland DOC Pays $500,000 for Detainee Beaten to Death By Guards
Maryland DOC Pays $500,000 for Detainee Beaten to Death By Guards
In May, 2008, the State of Maryland settled for $500,000 a lawsuit brought by the family of a detainee who was beaten to death by jail guards at Baltimore’s Central Booking and Intake Center.
Raymond Smoot had been arrested in May 2005 on a minor charge and jailed for want of $150 to post bail. He got into some sort of altercation with guards who inflicted severe injuries that proved fatal. Smoot’s family – he was survived by one adult child and three minor children – alleged that guards used excessive force in violation of Eighth Amendment protections against cruel and unusual punishment. They sued for constitutional violations and intentional tort claims.
The matter was so serious that Baltimore fired eight of the guards who were involved. One was tried and convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 20 years in prison. [See: PLN, Feb. 2007, p.1]. Smoot’s family was represented by Baltimore attorney A. Dwight Kelly. See: Kelly v. Woods, Baltimore Circuit Court, Case No. 24C06000817.
Additional source: 2008 JAS Publications, Metro Verdicts Monthly
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Related legal case
Kelly v. Woods
| Year | 2008 |
|---|---|
| Cite | Baltimore Circuit Court, Case No. 24C06000817 |
| Level | State Trial Court |
| Conclusion | Settlement |
| Damages | 500,000.00 |
| Injunction Status | N/A |