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Larry Price

  • Age: 51
  • Name of Jail: Sebastian County Jail
  • Location: Fort Smith, AR
  • Cause of Death*: Acute dehydration and malnutrition
  • Incarceration Type: Pre-Trial Detention
  • Private Company: Turn Key Health Clinics
  • Incarceration Duration: A year
  • Date of Death: August 29, 2021

Larry Price lived unhoused in Fort Smith, Arkansas. He experienced paranoid schizophrenia and a developmental disability, and had a long history of mental health challenges. He was arrested amid an acute mental health crisis. Unable to afford a $100 bond deposit, he spent a year in jail, mostly in solitary confinement. His weight diminished from 185 lbs to about 90 lbs. On January 8, 2021, he submitted a medical request form stating, “I am sick and have lost a lot of weight I need to see a doctor," but he did not receive the help he required. Price was "so visibly emaciated that he resembled a victim of famine," according to a lawsuit filed by his estate. Hundreds of “wellbeing checks” by staff failed to note his deterioration across a span of many months, and staff continued to sign off on his wellbeing ten times after he was dead.

Attorney Hank Balston filed a lawsuit against Sebastian County. Turn Key Health Clinics, an independent contractor hired by Sebastian County to care for patients in the jail, and two of its employees were also named as defendants in the lawsuit. Family's attorney is Erik Heipt

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