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Sons of man who committed suicide in jail awarded $301,000

BELLEVILLE, Ill. (AP) - The sons of a man who committed suicide in the St. Clair County jail in an Illinois suburb of St. Louis have been awarded $301,000.

A federal jury on Thursday found if favor of the estate of Bradley Scarpi in a wrongful death claim filed against correctional officer Christopher Lanzante that claimed he didn't protect Scarpi from harm.

The jury sided with the sheriff's department on a claim that the department failed to protect inmates.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports Scarpi was found hanging by a bed sheet and died in a hospital. The lawsuit had said jailers and officials were indifferent to suicides and didn't provide Scarpi with adequate mental health services or regularly check on him.

Sheriff Rick Watson said his department was exonerated by the verdict.

Scarpi's sons are now 15 and 20.

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This story has been corrected to show the case was out of St. Louis County in Illinois, not Missouri.

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Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com

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