The trial of former Scioto County corrections officer Billy Thompson ended with two “Not Guilty” verdicts in a Scioto County courtroom on Monday evening. Thompson was accused of causing the death of Kevin Bailey, an inmate at the Scioto County Jail.
It’s been nearly two years since Bailey, a 57-year-old homeless Portsmouth man, was severely injured in an incident at the Scioto County Jail and died a few days later at a Columbus hospital.
During Monday’s court session, 2 jurors were replaced. One didn’t feel well and asked to be excused. A few hours later, the second juror requested to leave due to a dental appointment. There were 3 alternate jurors in total. So, the final one was permitted to leave as the jury began deliberations.
The jury took just under 5 hours to reach their verdict.
Despite media coverage of police brutality across the country at the time, very few media outlets besides SCDN expressed any interest. SCDN was the only media outlet to cover the bill sent to Skaggs by the city of Portsmouth to pay to collect his remains and how she was forced to turn over money she’d raised for her brother’s funeral to pay the bill. In fact, this is our 9th article on the matter.
Our live events reporter, Betty Smith, did not see any other media in the courtroom for today’s events.
This case was prosecuted by the State of Ohio. The Ohio Attorney General sent 2 prosecutors to try this case. In addition, they spent many thousands of dollars on 2 expert witnesses.
No representatives of the Scioto County Prosecutors Office were involved or in attendance.
Kevin Bailey Timeline
- May 24, 2020 – Kevin Bailey is arrested.
- May 26, 2020 – Bailey is assaulted at the jail sustaining skull fractures, broken ribs, and other serious injuries
- June 1, 2020 – Kevin Bailey is removed from life support and dies at a Columbus Hospital
- Early June 2020 – The State of Ohio takes over the death investigation.
- Mid-June, 2020 – Sheriff Marty Donnini fires a deputy in connection with the incident
- July 14, 2020 – Karen Skaggs receives a bill from the City of Portsmouth for her brother’s ashes.
- October 2, 2020 – The coroner’s report rules Bailey’s death as a homicide by blunt force trauma. The reports detail multiple skull fractures, broken ribs, and bruises to Bailey’s lungs.
- December 2, 2020 -Scioto County Prosecutor Shane Tieman handed off the job of prosecuting any charges in the homicide of Kevin Bailey to the state of Ohio. In a statement, Tieman said, “The Ohio Attorney General’s Office accepted the request from the Scioto County Prosecutor’s Office to review and prosecute any charges arising out of the homicide investigation of the death of Kevin Bailey at the Scioto County Jail.”
- April 16, 2021- Grand Jury Indictment
- April 20, 2021- Defendant pleads not guilty
- April 20, 2021- Defendant signs bond, gets an ankle monitor, and is released to the custody of court services
- April 19, 2022- Trial begins
- April 25, 2022- Not Guilty Verdict
Cyn Mackley and Betty Smith contributed to this article
