Family of inmate fatally beaten by cellmate sues Ohio county

CLEVELAND (AP) — The family of a man who authorities say was beaten to death by his cellmate has sued officials responsible for the county jail in Cleveland.

The federal lawsuit filed by Shone Trawick’s family on Thursday says Cuyahoga County corrections officers should have isolated his accused killer from the jail’s general population because of his history of violence and inmate attacks, cleveland.com reported.

A county spokesperson declined to comment about the lawsuit.

Trawick, 48, was serving six months in jail on misdemeanor charges when he was killed last November. His cellmate, 31-year-old Edmond Hightower, has been indicted on murder charges in Trawick’s death.

A judge last month ordered Hightower, who was jailed on felonious assault and obstruction charges at the time of the attack, to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

The lawsuit claims the attack was unprovoked and that Hightower had a “well-documented history of impulsive and violent tendencies.”

Hightower spent three years in a psychiatric institute after being found not guilty by reason of insanity in January 2017 on a weapons charge, court records show.