$207,500 Settlement in Ohio Prisoner’s Suicide
$207,500 Settlement in Ohio Prisoner’s Suicide
The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction paid $207,500 to settle a wrongful death claim brought by the estate of a prisoner who committed suicide.
Candace Van Sickle, 21, was sentenced to eight years in prison for committing 20 burglaries and stealing a vehicle during a crime spree with her mother, who received a 14 ½ year sentence in 2003. The attorney warned prison officials she was suicidal.
Van Sickle spent the next two days on suicide watch, but after an examination on April 21, 2004, she was found to not present a risk to herself. She was moved to the infirmary where she made a noose out of a bed sheet and hanged herself from a bathroom doorknob. Five days later, she was removed from life support.
The state was represented by Columbus attorney Frank Day, who received $52, 585 in attorney fees and $54,915 in costs. That left the estate $100,000.
See: Van Sickle v Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, Ohio Court of Claims, Case: 2004-09088
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Related legal case
Van Sickle v Department of Rehabilitation and Correction
| Year | 2004 |
|---|---|
| Cite | Ohio Court of Claims, Case: 2004-09088 |
| Level | State Trial Court |
| Conclusion | Settlement |
| Attorney Fees | 107,500.00 |
| Damages | 100,000.00 |