Frank Smart
Birth date:
August 5, 1975
Death date:
January 5, 2015
Age at Death:
39
About
Frank Smart was 39 years old when he died, he was a father to 9 children, and was very active in all of their lives. At the time of Frank's death, it caused a lot of problems in a lot of these children's lives. The eldest daughter filed a lawsuit against the county to try to fight for justice for her father. Smart lived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania supporting all of his kids, without him they faced financial troubles and faced more problems than they should have.
Frank Smart had a medical condition in which he needed medication every morning and evening for, after he was incarcerated, he was taken to jail. At the jailhouse, the officials refused to give Mr. Smart his medication in the morning and gave him a reduced dose in the evening. The absence of his medication created a circumstance in which he had an epileptic seizure. Normally, this would have been fine if the jail officials would have handled it correctly, but these officials tried to restrain Mr. Smart and they did so by laying on top of him to restrain him. In the case it was found that the seizure was the cause of death, but the method of restraint by the officials was a contributing factor.
Was justice served?
Justice was served, but not in a way that seems fair, the health provider was forced to step down and there weren't any serious charges held against the jail officials. Family members were given 950K to settle the case from the county. The officials were not held to a level of accountability that they should have been held to and no one faced serious repercussions for their actions, or lack there of in cases like the health provider.