Judge dismisses lawsuit over Dane County Jail death

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MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A federal judge on Monday dismissed a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of a man who died from a drug overdose in the Dane County Jail.

U.S. District Judge William Conley ruled there was not enough evidence to put the case in front a jury.

The lawsuit was filed two years ago by the family of 37-year-old Shannon Payne, who overdosed in 2016 on what was said to be heroin that had been smuggled into the jail.

“In granting summary judgment to the defendants, the court in no way means to diminish the tragic events surrounding Payne’s overdose and death,” Conley wrote. “Of course, it is awful that heroin was smuggled into the jail, and as a matter of public policy, the jail should do all it can to restrict, if not eliminate, the presence of any unauthorized drugs within its walls.”
Conley said lawyers for Payne’s family failed to present sufficient evidence that would support the finding that Payne’s constitutional rights were violated or that the county was somehow liable, the State Journal reported.

According to court documents, Payne went into a restroom at the jail with another inmate, where both apparently used drugs. Payne suffered an overdose in the bathroom and was taken to a hospital, where he died two days later.

Defendants, which included Dane County and then-Sheriff Dave Mahoney, maintained it was not known when the drugs Payne took were smuggled into the jail, who smuggled them in and how, and whether Payne or the other inmate had possessed the drugs that were used in the bathroom.