Settlement in suit over Delco jail death

The family of an Aston woman who died after five weeks at the Delaware County jail has reached a settlement with operators of the jail after nearly two weeks of trial in federal court.

Cassandra "Sandy" Morgan, 38, died in 2006 of complications from a thyroid condition for which she did not receive medication while incarcerated. Morgan, who had schizophrenia, had been declared incompetent to stand trial on a shoplifting charge. She died before the court could rule on the psychiatrist's competency evaluation.

Neither the Morgan family nor its lawyers would disclose terms of the settlement, citing a confidentiality agreement. James Mundy, a lawyer for the family, said only, "Everybody is satisfied."

Before the trial, the family reached a settlement for an undisclosed amount with the Crozer-Chester Medical Center, which discharged Morgan from its psychiatric ward nine days before her arrest. Morgan was charged with trying to steal toys from a Boothwyn Wal-Mart, telling the police that she owned the store.

The family also sued several doctors and psychiatrists who worked for the jail, but all were dismissed from the case during the trial. Usha Kotihal, the psychiatrist who discharged Morgan from Crozer-Chester, settled before the trial for an undisclosed amount.

The GEO Group Inc. of Florida has operated the George W. Hill Correctional Facility in Thornton since 1996. The company announced in August that it was withdrawing from the $39 million contract with the county, citing financial underperformance and the cost of litigation.

The Delaware County Board of Prison Inspectors voted yesterday to have Community Education Centers Inc. of West Caldwell, N.J., take over the contract until Dec. 31, 2009. The company will begin Jan. 5, jail superintendent John Reilly said.

Carolyn Short, who defended the GEO Group and the Board of Prison Inspectors in the Morgan case, declined to comment yesterday on the settlement with her clients.