A New Jersey woman whose husband hanged himself in jail has been awarded more than $1.5 million in a jury decision against county corrections officials.
The jury reached a unanimous verdict Tuesday that found Ocean County Corrections Department's negligence was a "proximate cause" to the death of 45-year-old Kenneth Conforti. The lawsuit was brought by Brick attorney Donald Burke, on behalf of Carol Ann Conforti.
Burke says Conforti is grateful for the jury's decision.
Ocean County attorney John Sahradnik says that he is disappointed in the jury's decision. He says he has a motion pending that asks a judge to declare that Ocean County has no liability for Conforti's death.
Conforti was found dead in his Ocean County Jail cell on Oct. 20, 2010.
If you are in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 or reach out to the Crisis Text Line by texting ‘Home’ to 741741.
