Family files lawsuit in Jacksonville man’s 2018 death at Lake Butler prison

Nick Gibson
·2 min read

A Jacksonville family has filed a lawsuit against the Florida Department of Corrections after their attorney accused prison guards of the death of Timothy Thomas.

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Thomas was an inmate who died in the Lake Butler Medical and Reception facility on Easter Sunday, 2018. Now, his family is expected to have his body exhumed for further investigation.

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However, providing those claims could be difficult. Action News Jax’s law and safety expert Dale Carson said the evidence that was once there is now gone after Thomas was buried.

“The effort now is to determine the manner of death,” Carson said.

Thomas died in prison and according to his family’s attorney Robert Slama, it was due to the actions of corrections officers.

In a lawsuit filed in April 2022, Slama said Thomas was brutally beaten by guards during his transfer there to receive a medical procedure. While at breakfast, he was pulled out of line for the religious headwear he was wearing.

According to Slama, corrections officers beat Thomas and gassed him before he was eventually placed in a cell with another inmate. He died hours later.

Slama also said the medical examiner changed Thomas’ cause of death from homicide to an undetermined death, and state attorney Brian Kramer declined to pursue any charges against the Florida Department of Corrections guards.

Carson told Action News Jax that the cause of death could be determined within days.

“If the manner of death indicates that he was injured, particularly by a department of correction personnel during the time he was in their care of custody.”

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The family of Thomas is expected to hold a press conference on Tuesday.

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