By C1 Staff
JOPLIN, Mo. — The mother of an inmate who died after being left in a restraint chair for over 20 hours wants a ban on the correctional tool.
Jane Brown sued the Jasper County Jail and its employees back in August 2013, after her son, Richard Watson, died while in their custody, according to the Joplin Globe.
Jasper County recently settled the lawsuit within recent weeks with a five thousand dollar deductible on a $250 thousand insurance settlement, according to KY3. However, the county has admitted no wrongdoing and no policy changes are planned.
An autopsy stated Watson died of natural causes, but hours of footage show Watson tied down in a restraint chair after staff say he injured himself.
The cause of death was deemed to be “cardiac arrhythmia secondary to the myocardial hypoxia due to strenuous exercise of agitation induced by alcohol withdrawal.”
The restraint chair’s manual says no detainee should be left in the chair for over two hours.
Watson was arrested after violating a restraint order brought against him by his stepfather, Charles Brown. Watson, an alcoholic, showed up at the Browns’ home in violation of the court order.
After just three days incarceration, Watson was said to have pushed his head “violently through a Plexiglas window.” It was after this incident that Watson was placed in the restraint chair.
A report says Watson was “constantly thrashing” and “throwing himself against the restraints” until he “seemed to relax and died.”
Jim Rives of Burrell Behavioral Health says chairs should only be used as a last resort, but those with mental illnesses are better served in a medical setting rather than in a correctional one. He does not, however, support a ban on the chairs.