NC settles with psychology manager fired after inmate's dehydration death
A prison psychology manager initially fired after a mentally ill inmate died of thirst last year returned to work this month with a 10-percent raise.
Posted — UpdatedBut Monguillot challenged that demotion.
In late April, the state decided to settle after promising to fully reinstate him, transfer him to Forsyth Correctional Center with a new title and award him back pay and attorney's feeds. He'll also receive a higher salary of $103,165 as part of a 10 percent "reallocation increase."
State personnel records show all other prison psychological services coordinators received a 9 percent raise in March.
The mental health manager was one of 25 people who resigned or were disciplined after an investigation into the death of Michael Anthony Kerr on March 12, 2014.
The state medical examiner attributed his death to dehydration.
Michael Byrne, Monguillot's attorney, said that, while he wished the agency had handled the disciplinary process better, he was glad to see the issue resolved and his client back at work. He declined to comment further.
State agencies are limited by law in what they can publicly release about disciplinary actions, but DPS leaders in the past have defended their decisions in the wake of Kerr's death. The department declined to comment about the settlement.
As a regional manager for mental health, Monguillot didn't deal with Kerr directly.
Butler resigned in April 2014 amid the investigation into Kerr's death.
Agency leaders said Monguillot hired Butler despite her two criminal convictions for animal abandonment in 2011 and a 2005 reprimand from the North Carolina Psychology Board over a licensing issue. In both cases, Guice wrote, Monguillot did not tell his superiors about the potential hire's issues.
The prison chief also criticized Monguillot for failing to discipline Butler for looking up her own record in the state's confidential offender tracking system while employed at the prison and for not disclosing any of this information to investigators following Kerr's death.
The settlement agreement signed last month notes that Monguillot's demotion will be replaced in his personnel file with a written warning that will remain for 18 months. After that, his record will be effectively wiped clean.
Read the settlement agreement
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