Jackie Strode

Warren County Jailer Jackie Strode and the estate of a man who died in jail custody in 2009 have reached an out-of-court settlement, bringing an end to a protracted legal battle in which the man’s relatives sought to hold Strode liable for his death.

Lawyers for the jailer and for Shannon Finn, the Warren County Regional Jail inmate who was found unresponsive in an isolation cell, said that the terms of the settlement were confidential.

“They’re relieved the case is over,” attorney Greg Belzley of Prospect said of Finn’s surviving relatives. “The loss of Mr. Finn was difficult, and something I always remind my clients of and am reminded of myself is that the litigation process can be difficult as well. They’re relieved it’s over and ready to move on.”

Relatives administering Finn’s estate sued Strode, six deputy jailers, two jail nurses and the jail’s former medical director in U.S. District Court in 2010, accusing them of negligence, deliberate indifference and other claims.

Finn, who was booked in the jail on March 17, 2009, for a probation violation, showed symptoms of alcohol withdrawal and was placed on a detox protocol the following day.

Finn’s symptoms appeared to gradually worsen, and he died March 20, 2009. Medical staff evaluated the 34-year-old Finn the night before his death and he was placed in an isolation cell.

Belzley, representing Finn’s estate, argued that Strode failed to train his deputies on the jail’s emergency response policy and that the deputies did not communicate with the jail’s medical staff, contracted to work there by Southern Medical Partners, about Finn’s condition.

Attorneys for the jail staff and the medical director countered that Finn was provided with adequate medical care throughout his time in custody and that jail staff followed protocol.

An expert witness for the defense testified that Finn died from an undiagnosed heart condition, countering Belzley’s argument that Finn died from delirium tremens brought on by alcohol withdrawal.

Claims against Strode were dismissed prior to a 2013 trial in U.S. District Court in Bowling Green in which jurors cleared all the remaining co-defendants of any liability.

Belzley appealed the jury’s verdict to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, which upheld the decision but restored the negligence claim against Strode in 2014.

That appeals court ruling cited testimony Strode gave at trial in which he appeared to fault himself for writing an emergency response policy that jail staff could not follow.

“What I’ve learned from this is that the policy I had in place, I did a poor job of trying to convey that, trying to write that out, and I will take the blame for that, that it was a poor job of putting down instructions,” Strode is quoted in court documents as saying.

U.S. District Judge Joseph McKinley dismissed the case against Strode a second time, but the federal appeals court reversed McKinley’s decision last year, and settlement negotiations had been ongoing.

The case had been scheduled to go to trial next month.

“It’s been a long six years of litigation,” said attorney Aaron Smith of Bowling Green, who represents Strode. “The case was tried once, and Jailer Strode is pleased that the matter is resolved so that everyone can move on.”

Smith said he was not in a position to comment on whether Finn’s death and the subsequent court case have led to revisions in the jail’s emergency response policy.

— Follow courts reporter Justin Story on Twitter @jstorydailynews or visit bgdailynews.com