Court Judgment Awards $2 Million to Mother of Prisoner Who Died in Rolette County Jail

FARGO (KFGO) – The mother of a 19-year-old woman who died while in the Rolette County Jail in northern North Dakota has been granted a court judgment with the county and two former correctional officers.

Jessica Allen will be paid $2 million.

Court documents say In June of 2020, Lacey Higdem was found in the woods. She was hallucinating and in distress. She was under the influence of methamphetmine.

After medical clearance, she was taken to the jail in Rolla. The Minneapolis law firm of Robins Kaplan, which represents Allen, says Higdem suffered worsening effects from the drug. It says two jail guards were watching TV and ignored pleas from other inmates who alerted them that Higdem needed medical help.

The case has been assigned to U.S. District Court Judge Peter Welte.