Arkansas Jail Suit Settled for $20,000

Authorities in Baxter County, Ark., have settled a lawsuit filed by a former prisoner who claimed jailers stood by as he was assaulted in the county jail.

Howard Johnson of Mountain Home filed the suit in January 2010 against Sheriff John Montgomery and the jail’s administrator. The suit claims that jailers – referred to as John Does in the lawsuit – failed to protect Johnson as another inmate attacked him, breaking his jaw.

Johnson initially sought $250,000 in punitive damages but agreed to a $20,000 settlement.

Montgomery tells Mountain Home radio station KTLO that the defendants did not admit any fault or liability in the settlement.

The inmate who attacked Johnson was subsequently found guilty of second-degree battery and ordered to pay Johnson’s medical bills.