State Pays Settlement To Baltimore Jail Inmate After Beatings

The Board of Public Works reluctantly approved a request by the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services to provide $40,000 in settlement to inmate Michael Smith, who was brutally assaulted multiple times while in state custody.

Surfacing amid the Baltimore City Detention Center scandal that made a splash in state and national media, Smith’s shocking case raises further questions about the Maryland’s correctional facilities with allegations of corrupt correctional officers, denial of medical treatment, and incompetence across the correctional system.

While in the city jail, Smith cut a deal with correctional officer Duane Crew who agreed to smuggle heroin, cell phones, and other contraband into the facility. When inmate Smith backed out of the partnership, it is alleged that Crew provided another inmate, Bryan Medlin, with a handcuff key, allowing Medlin to escape from triple restraints (hands cuffed and chained to the feet) and carry out a violent assault on Smith.

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