Somerset County paid $345,000 in confidential deals over two jail deaths
Two men died at the Somerset County Jail in Madison: Virgil White, 33, by hanging on Dec. 5, 2022, after returning from Riverview Psychiatric Center with reported mental health issues, and Mitchell Watson, 35, on Feb. 6, 2023, from exposure to drugs smuggled into the jail. Their families sued the county, Sheriff Dale Lancaster and jail officials in federal court in 2024, alleging inadequate care and that staff ignored signs of drug exposure. In June 2025 the county's publicly funded insurer, the Maine County Commissioners Association risk pool, paid $345,000 to settle both cases under agreements listing the payment as "$1 plus other consideration" with confidentiality and nondisparagement terms. No findings of fault were made. Michael Pike, jail administrator when the suits were filed, remains with the sheriff's office as a school resource officer. Lancaster declined to discuss the cases.
Pike, at the time the lawsuits were filed, had been promoted to the jail administrator and held the rank of major.
The family also claims that the jail staff failed to act after Watson's roommate reported his strange behavior and symptoms.
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