Nevada settled lawsuit over man’s prison death for $4.6 million, lawyer says

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Nevada has agreed to pay $4.6 million to settle a lawsuit that accused prison guards of beating up a man and leaving him to die in 2023, a lawyer said Tuesday.

The medical examiner said Christian Walker’s death at High Desert State Prison near Las Vegas was natural and caused by heart problems. But the autopsy report showed that he had head trauma and other injuries to his torso, neck and extremities.

Walker, 44, was beaten twice within a short period after being transferred from another prison, the first time after a dispute about his personal possessions, said James Urrutia, an attorney for his family.

“There is absolutely no evidence that (Walker) had any heart disease, no issues at all with his heart,” Urrutia told The Associated Press.

An email and phone message seeking comment about the settlement were not immediately returned by the Department of Corrections.

Urrutia said he settled with the state before a trial because Walker’s family was satisfied that the litigation revealed details about what happened. Clark County remains a defendant in the case.

“My ego definitely doesn’t feel like it’s a big enough number,” he said of $4.6 million.

Walker had been in prison for more than 20 years. He was serving a life sentence with the possibility of parole for the death of his 17-year-old girlfriend in 1997.

Walker’s face was swollen and smeared with blood when he died in custody, according to the lawsuit and the autopsy report.

Prison staff said Walker had repeatedly ignored commands and showed aggression toward officers, leading them to restrain him with batons and their hands, according to the autopsy.

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