CLEVELAND (AP) — The family of a man who authorities say was beaten to death by his cellmate has sued
officials responsible for the county jail in Cleveland.
The federal lawsuit filed by Shone Trawick’s family on Thursday says Cuyahoga County corrections officers
should have isolated his accused killer from the jail’s general population because of his history of
violence and inmate attacks, cleveland.com reported.
A county spokesperson declined to comment about the lawsuit.
Trawick, 48, was serving six months in jail on misdemeanor charges when he was killed last November. His
cellmate, 31-year-old Edmond Hightower, has been indicted on murder charges in Trawick’s death.
A judge last month ordered Hightower, who was jailed on felonious assault and obstruction charges at the
time of the attack, to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
The lawsuit claims the attack was unprovoked and that Hightower had a "well-documented history of
impulsive and violent tendencies."
Hightower spent three years in a psychiatric institute after being found not guilty by reason of insanity
in January 2017 on a weapons charge, court records show.