The state Attorney General?s Office has agreed to pay out $500,000 of state funds to relatives of a man beaten to death by guards at Baltimore City?s Central Booking facility, sources said.
The multimillion-dollar lawsuit filed in Baltimore City Circuit Court was officially closed Friday, after relatives of Raymond Smoot, 51, agreed to the offer in exchange for the family dropping its $130 million wrongful death lawsuit.
“I?m not particularly overjoyed,” said Dwight Pettit, who represents the family members. “But we had to go with the clients? decision.”
Pettit acknowledged the settlement but refused to confirm the $500,000 amount. Several courthouse insiders told The Examiner the number was accurate.
The deal still needs to be confirmed by the state?s Board of Public Works.
Raquel Guillory, a spokeswoman for Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler, confirmed the parties “have reached a preliminary settlement.”
“The settlement is not done, drafted or signed yet,” she said.
Smoot died May 14, 2005, after a struggle broke out involving 25 to 30 guards, during which officers repeatedly stomped and beat Smoot.
Though multiple guards were alleged to have been involved, only one, former correctional officer Dameon Woods, was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Pettit said the state argued that it has a liability cap of $200,000, unlike Baltimore City, which has no cap. Even if Smoot?s family had won a multimillion-dollar lawsuit, the state might have successfully reduced the amount on appeal, he said.
“The state has pretty well immuned itself from liability,” he added. “The state is the king, and the king is immune. The state can do no wrong. We had to decide: Do we want to get an empty judgment that will look good on paper?”
Smoot?s death highlighted overcrowded conditions at Central Booking, which was built to process up to 45,000 people annually but has processed more than double that number.
