The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction has reached a settlement with the family of a man who lost his life while in custody. The family had accused the prison system of neglect and violence.
FG+G, a law firm, has announced that the ODRC will pay $225,000 to Dewey McVay Jr.’s family as a settlement for claims of violence and neglect.
According to the law firm representing the McVay estate, a lawsuit was filed in April 2022 to probe into the cause of his death. It is believed that the treatment he received from prison guards and medical staff may have been a contributing factor.
According to FG+G, McVay was confined in a state facility located in Orient in December 2019. On December 2, during a prison transfer, McVay allegedly resisted the transportation. The law firm claimed that the prison guards unlawfully entered McVay’s cell and attacked him, even though he was already handcuffed.
According to a statement issued by the law firm, the officers who were present during the incident, as well as the witnesses, provided inaccurate information and filed false reports regarding the cause of McVay’s injuries. The statement further revealed that the medical staff failed to obtain precise details about the injuries and did not comply with the recommended CT scan to diagnose a head injury.
On December 20, McVay was pronounced dead after being found unresponsive in his cell two weeks prior. The cause of death was attributed to blunt force trauma.
