Dead Inmate’s Family Awarded $350K

The mother and siblings of an inmate who died after being punched at a southwestern Ohio prison have been awarded $350,000.

The Court of Claims of Ohio ruled that the family of Brandon Copas was due the money after they filed a lawsuit against the state’s prisons department.

The court earlier said the department was liable in his death because Copas didn’t receive proper treatment.

Copas had been serving a nine-year sentence at the Warren Correctional Institution for aggravated vehicular manslaughter when he was punched twice and hit his head on the floor.

He died the next day in the prison’s infirmary. The family said prison staff failed to get him proper care quickly.

The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction declined to comment.