Kansas offers $150K to family of inmate killed in Lansing prison by cellmate

Kansas offered to pay $150,000 to the family of a prisoner who was allegedly killed by his cellmate last year, but negotiations are still ongoing.

The State Finance Council, which includes the governor and legislative leadership, unanimously approved the attorney general's proposed settlement of a claim identified as "Raburn v. State of Kansas."

The members went into executive session to discuss the case secretly during a virtual meeting on Thursday. There was no public discussion about the facts of the case, why the state offered to settle or how much it would cost.

The Kansas Department of Administration provided The Capital-Journal with a copy of the signed resolution after it was approved.

The resolution showed Kansas is willing to pay $150,000 from the tort claims fund to settle a lawsuit brought by the family of Gary Raburn, who was an inmate killed by his cellmate at Lansing Correctional Facility.

Gary Raburn was killed in his prison cell

The Kansas Department of Corrections previously reported that Raburn died Jan. 6, 2023, at Lansing Correctional Facility.

Raburn, age 62, had been an inmate at the prison since March 14, 2022, and was serving a sentence out of Sedgwick County for two counts of violating the Kansas Offender Registration Act. The underlying offenses were a Neosho County aggravated kidnapping in 2005 and a Sedgwick County violation of the offender registration act in 2017.

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation, which investigates inmate deaths, said at the time that Raburn's death was a homicide. Agents reported that corrections officers were summoned by a 25-year-old inmate to their two-person cell, where they found Raburn unresponsive.

The KBI said Raburn "appeared to have been attacked and strangled."

Cellmate charged with capital murder

Ladarious Racquez Barkers has been charged with capital murder in Raburn's death.

Prosecutors allege that Barkers "intentionally and with premeditation" killed Raburn while incarcerated at Lansing.

Leavenworth County District Court records show a jury trial scheduled for March 2024 was canceled and has not been rescheduled. The case is currently awaiting a competency hearing scheduled for Jan. 22, 2025, and records indicate Barkers has been on a waitlist with a months-long delay to get a mental evaluation at Larned State Hospital.

In an affidavit, a KBI special agent wrote that when the corrections officers responded to the secured cell, Barkers told them: "You got a dead man walking," "That old man is dead" and "I killed him." Officers found Raburn laying on his back on a bunk bed, with a towel wrapped around his neck and twisted together in front of his throat.

Another officer reported hearing Barkers say, "Mental health didn't believe me." A special agent found a handwritten note on a napkin that read: "Mental health didn't take me serious, they didn't care will you listen now? L. Barkers."

An agent wrote that Barkers later told him that he felt like the prison's mental health unit wasn't taking him seriously, and "a voice in his head told him that if he hurt his cell mate the staff at Lansing Correctional Facility would take him more seriously." Barkers said he made up his mind to kill a cellmate after finding out he was going to be moved out of the medical clinic.

Barkers was initially going to be placed with a different inmate, but that inmate "refused to follow corrections officer's instructions." Barkers was then moved to a different cell with a different inmate.

Barkers later told investigators that he thought he could've overpowered and killed the first inmate, but doubted he could overpower the second inmate, who was bigger than him and "probably would have fought a lot harder, so I was pretty much picking and choosing."

Prison staff offered to move Barkers to Raburn's cell, whom Barkers knew from being in the prison's medical clinic at the same time. Barkers said he chocked Raburn with his arms and a pillow before later placing the towel around his neck, "so he wouldn't regain consciousness."

An autopsy found that Raburn died from asphyxiation due to strangulation, and listed the manner of death as homicide.

Raburn's family had sought $5 million

Leavenworth County District Court records show Raburn's family filed a lawsuit against the Kansas Department of Corrections, Lansing Correctional Facility and Centurion, which provides health care at state prisons. The lawsuit was filed by his brother, Michael Raburn, and daughter, Desaree Raburn.

They had been seeking $5 million.

Court records indicate there was a separate confidential settlement agreement with Centurion for an undisclosed amount without admitting any wrongdoing.

The lawsuit noted that Barkers had been imprisoned on convictions of aggravated robbery and aggravated battery. The basis for at least one of those convictions was a "brutal beating of an 82-year-old priest," according to the lawsuit. Since his incarceration, he was disciplined for numerous infractions, including for violent or threatening acts.

"Despite foreknowledge of Barkers' extensive violent history, Defendants assigned Barkers to a cell with Raburn, who was approximately 37 years older than Barkers and physically infirm," the lawsuit alleged. "Although Defendants knew or should have known of Barkers’ violent propensities, they failed to take reasonable steps to protect Raburn and other similarly situated inmates and as a result, Raburn was exposed to an unreasonable risk of harm and suffered fatal injuries.

"Raburn's injuries and death were directly and proximately caused by the negligent acts and/or omissions of Defendants."

Proposed settlement comes after recent Topeka inmate death

The proposed settlement could indicate what the state would be willing to pay in another recent inmate death.

Last month, 40-year-old Topekan Brooks Vonthaer died in his cell at El Dorado Correctional Facility. The KBI has said it is investigating his death as a homicide, and the cellmate is the suspect.

More: Inmate accused of killing cellmate, a Topeka man, at Kansas prison in El Dorado

(This story was updated because an earlier version included an inaccuracy.)

Jason Alatidd is a Statehouse reporter for The Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached by email at jalatidd@gannett.com. Follow him on X @Jason_Alatidd.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas offers $150,000 to settle lawsuit in prison inmate murder case