Inmate Murdered

Spokane County, WA: (Sep-19-07) The family of 21-year-old Christopher L. Rentz brought a lawsuit against Spokane County, alleging that Rentz was murdered by his cellmates in October 2004, as a result of the county's negligence. The lawsuit alleged that jail employees and a Spokane Mental Health nurse practitioner negligently violated Rentz's civil rights by placing the minimum-security prisoner in a cell with two maximum-security prisoners, including one later convicted of an unrelated double-murder. The dormitory cell ordinarily was limited to inmates with mental issues. Rentz had a history of property crimes and was being held on a charge of stealing $23.04 worth of gasoline and punching an attendant who tried to stop him. Family members representing Rentz's estate also claimed the jail staff was negligent in giving his killers access to the broom handle with which Rentz was beaten, the razor blade with which his throat was cut and the sheet used to strangle him. The suit claimed that a jailer heard the attack on Rentz and took no action except to use an intercom to ask what was happening. The corrections officer reportedly couldn't understand the scratchy answer, but still didn't investigate. In a settlement reached in the $5.65 million federal lawsuit, the county agreed to $180,000 payout, resolving the wrongful death case. [SPOKESMAN REVIEW: INMATE MURDER]

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Published on Sep-20-07