The US Government is facing a lawsuit filed by the family of a nuclear physicist who committed suicide while in custody in a Virginia jail cell. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Christopher Lapp’s 16-year-old daughter, claiming that errors by prison officials, federal marshals, prosecutors, and doctors caused the scientist to take his own life.
Lapp, who had multiple degrees including a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was being held at the Alexandria jail on a federal bank robbery charge when he hanged himself in May 2001.
He was 62 years old at the time of his death. The lawsuit argues that Lapp would still be alive if his medication was not discontinued and he was admitted to a federal medical prison center, as previously ordered by a judge.
Lapp had walked into a Wells Fargo bank in November 2018 with a gun and demanded the teller hand over money. He was tracked down by a K-9 officer and arrested.
A federal judge ruled that Lapp was going through a manic episode at the time of the robbery, and he was initially ruled mentally unfit to stand trial.
Once his competency was restored at the Butner, North Carolina medical prison center, Lapp decided to plead guilty to the bank robbery charge.
However, the facility denied his return, claiming their policy barred them from taking an inmate who had not yet been sentenced. As a result, Lapp remained in the Alexandria jail, where a physician discontinued his medication, and he hanged himself in his cell roughly one month after he pleaded guilty.
The case reveals that Lapp’s complete medical records were not sent over from the North Carolina facility, and he was not admitted as previously ordered.
After Lapp’s suicide, the judge put officials of the Butner facility on blast for refusing his orders. The judge also admitted partial blame, as he was unaware that Lapp was never transferred. Lapp’s tragic case raises serious questions about the handling of individuals with mental health issues in the criminal justice system.
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