The trial of former Scioto County corrections officer Billy Thompson began in a Scioto County courtroom on Tuesday. Thompson is 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.
At the time, officials said he was hurt after running from guards. However, others told a different story. Witnesses claimed Bailey got mouthy with guards and was beaten. The state’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation took over the investigation in order to ensure fairness.
A deputy was fired over the incident, but no charges were filed. At the time, Scioto County Prosecutor Shane Tieman said that his office was waiting for the final coroner’s report from the state.
However, even after the final report was issued in late 2020, former Scioto County Jail Corrections Officer Billy Thompson was not indicted for the crime until April 2021.
During opening arguments, both the prosecution and defense agreed that Bailey, who was going through drug withdrawal, became problematic at the jail. The prosecution claims Thompson overreacted and intentionally injured the man, while Thompson’s defense claims the injuries were an unfortunate accident.
His sister, Karen Skaggs, took the stand to describe the extent of his injuries. During an interview with the Scioto County Daily News back in 2020, Skaggs described the extent of her brother’s injuries. “Sad to say he was hurt way worse than we knew. I knew his head had multiple fractures but didn’t know his left temple was broken.” The coroner’s report detailed six broken ribs and bruises to the lungs. The official cause of death is listed as severe blunt force trauma.
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 8th article on the matter.
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 – 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 – Coroner’s report rules Bailey’s death 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
Now, it will be up to the prosecution and defense to convince the jury that their side of the story is what actually happened.
