HENNEPIN COUNTY, Minn. – Hennepin County will pay $3.4 million to settle a lawsuit following the death of Lucas Bellamy.
Lucas Bellamy was an inmate at the Hennepin County Jail at the time of his death in July 2022. The settlement is believed to be the largest of its kind in Minnesota.
Video showed Lucas Bellamy begging for medical help behind bars, but he never received the help he needed. Him later died in his cell from a perforated intestine.
“These people who were in charge of his life knowingly decided to do nothing,” Lucas Bellamy’s mother, Colleen Bellamy, said in January when the federal civil rights lawsuit was first announced.
Lucas Bellamy’s family is well known in the community. His father Lou Bellamy founded St. Paul’s Penumbra Theater, where his sister, Sarah Bellamy, is now president.
“We hope as a family, by raising awareness about how my brother died, that we can prevent the abuse and deliberate neglect that Lucas suffered,” Sarah Bellamy said in January.
State records show that from September 2022 to September 2023, seven more inmates died at the Hennepin County Jail or after being transported from the jail for treatment.
On October 31, the Minnesota Department of Corrections ordered the Hennepin County Jail to reduce its prison population to 600. Current population numbers show nearly 800 inmates in custody.
The order came after the state found chronic and repeated failures in meeting welfare checks and staffing requirements.
A spokesperson for the province said in a statement: “Mr. Bellamy’s death was a tragedy. Our condolences go out to his family and to everyone affected by his death. While this lawsuit has been resolved, we remain committed to serving all people. under our care with dignity and respect.”
Kirsten Mitchell
