LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A trial date has been set for a lawsuit against Lancaster County filed by the father of a teenage inmate who killed himself.
The Lincoln Journal Star reports that U.S. District Judge John Gerrard scheduled a jury trial for Sept. 15.
Mark Kennedy, of Lincoln, filed the lawsuit after his 16-year-old son, Jonathan Kennedy, hanged himself in a youth detention center on Feb. 26. He was taken to a local hospital, where he later died.
The lawsuit argues that jail staff should have realized Jonathan Kennedy had mental problems and should have more effectively supervised him.
The suit seeks $5,000 in damages for funeral expenses and other unspecified damages.
A judge had ordered the boy detained for suspected drug use and self-harming behavior.
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