“Despite foreknowledge of Barkers’ extensive violent history, Defendants assigned Barkers to a cell with Raburn, who was approximately 37 years older than Barkers and physically infirm,” court filings say. “Although Defendants knew or should have known of Barkers’ violent propensities, they failed to take reasonable steps to protect Raburn and other similarly situated inmates and as a result, Raburn was exposed to an unreasonable risk of harm and suffered fatal injuries.”
Kansas offered to pay $150,000 to the family of a Lansing Correctional Facility inmate who was killed by his cellmate in 2023.
According to The Topeka Capital-Journal, the State Financial Council unanimously approved the attorney general’s proposed settlement of claim for Raburn v. State of Kansas. However, negotiations are still ongoing, and it does not appear that the family of Gary Raburn has yet accepted the offer.
In an early November article, the Capital-Journal wrote that the Kansa Department of Administration had provided it with a copy of the original, signed resolution. The resolution included an offer to pay up to $150,000 from tort claims related to Raburn’s death.
The Kansas Reflector notes that Raburn was 62 years old at the time of his death. He was serving a sentence for violations of the Kansas Offender Registry Act, which was a precondition of his probation.
Raburn had previously pleaded guilty in 2005 to an aggravated kidnapping charge in Neosho County, Kansas, but failed to register as an offender multiple times before being sent back to prison.
After he was convicted of violating the terms of his probation, Raburn was remanded to Lansing Correctional Facility, which is several miles northwest of Kansas City. There, he was assigned to share a cell with Ladarious Barkers, who was serving a 15-year sentence for charges related to the robbery and assault of a priest.
Barkers had purportedly been disciplined 100 or more times between March 2017 and 2023.
The Raburn family’s claim indicates that the Kansas Department of Corrections, as well as private prison health care provider and co-defendant Centurion, negligently failed to protect Raburn and other inmates from an obvious threat.
“Despite foreknowledge of Barkers’ extensive violent history, Defendants assigned Barkers to a cell with Raburn, who was approximately 37 years older than Barkers and physically infirm,” court filings say. “Although Defendants knew or should have known of Barkers’ violent propensities, they failed to take reasonable steps to protect Raburn and other similarly situated inmates and as a result, Raburn was exposed to an unreasonable risk of harm and suffered fatal injuries.”
“Raburn’s injuries and death,” the family’s claim alleges, “were directly and proximately caused by the negligent acts and/or omissions of Defendants.”
Barkers was charged with capital murder in 2023. If he is found guilty, he could face the death penalty.
[writer’s note: most publicly-available media sources indicate that the Raburn family has yet to accept the proposed settlement, but some reportage states that the claim has been resolved]
Sources
Kansas offers $150K to family of inmate killed in Lansing prison by cellmate
Kansas officials meet in secret to offer $150K settlement in Lansing prison death
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