Criminal Justice
Inmate settles suit over 'be sweet' chair
A Tennessee inmate’s federal civil-rights suit over a restraint device once known as the “be sweet” chair has settled for $50,000.
Inmate Lavonte Simmons said in his lawsuit that he was kept in the restraint chair at a Knoxville detention facility for nearly 48 hours, although he had two-hour breaks to eat or use the restroom, the Knoxville News Sentinel reports. As a result of the suit settlement, inmates generally can be restrained in the chair for a maximum of four hours, and higher-level approval will be needed before it can be used.
The inmate could be kept for longer periods in the chair, however, if the risk of harm to himself or others is too great to transfer him to a padded cell or other less-restrictive option.
