CHARLESTON — A mother and her children are suing the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation claiming it is responsible for the death of their loved one.
Connie Hardy, the long-time girlfriend of Franklin Barnhouse and the mother of his children, Stephanie Denman-Barnhouse and Michael Denman-Barnhouse, filed the lawsuit after Franklin Barnhouse was found dead on June 23, 2019, while at Eastern Regional Jail, according to a complaint filed in Kanawha Circuit Court.
The plaintiffs claim Franklin Barnhouse was arrested the previous day on an alcohol-related driving charge and was placed in a general population pod at the jail with other inmates, one of which had smuggled heroin into the jail and was not properly searched.
Heroin was found in the blood of Franklin Barnhouse after his death from usage while in the jail facility. The plaintiffs claim the jail violated its own policies by failing to properly search and find the inmate's heroin and failed to provide adequate supervision to ensure that inmates were not smuggling drugs.
The plaintiffs are seeking compensatory and punitive damages. They are represented by Joseph H. Spano and Faun S. Cushman of Pritt & Spano.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number: 21-C-537
