A federal judge has dismissed a $20 million wrongful death lawsuit filed against Cayuga County by the mother of a man who died by suicide while incarcerated at the county jail.
The Citizen reports that in a Sept. 12 order, U.S. District Court Judge Elizabeth C. Coombe ruled that Sherri Williams, the mother of 35-year-old Fred Williams Jr. of Summerhill, did not plausibly allege that the county denied her son medical care before he was found unresponsive at the jail on Nov. 24, 2022. Coombe also rejected her claim that the county subjected him to cruel and unusual punishment.
The lawsuit, filed in August 2024, sought $10 million on each claim. Defendants included Cayuga County, its jail, sheriff’s office, mental health office, Sheriff Brian Schenck, and 30 unnamed employees.
The case followed a September 2023 report from the New York State Commission of Correction, which said Williams’ death “may have been preventable.”
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