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A court decision issued Friday dealt a blow to the lawsuit Jerry Lawler filed against Hardeman County in the wake of the 2018 jailhouse hanging death of Lawler’s son, Brian Christopher Lawler, John Beifuss reports in this story.
According to the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Cincinnati, the Hardeman County officers cited in Lawler’s wrongful death lawsuit, which was filed in 2019, deserve “qualified immunity” from liability because it was not proved in court that the deputies “subjectively believed that there was a strong likelihood the inmate would commit suicide.”
“Jerry has been through a lot, and he’s very disappointed,” said lawyer Jeffrey Rosenblum, representing Lawler. “But it’s not over. Jerry has faith in the system, and there are other options for us to pursue.”