The parents of a 23-year-old mental health patient who died at Bridgewater State Hospital five years ago will receive $3 million to settle a civil rights lawsuit alleging that prison guards were responsible for their son’s death, according to Benjamin R. Novotny, an attorney for the parents.
The settlement, disclosed Tuesday, follows a February Boston Globe report detailing the death of Joshua K. Messieras he lay strapped to a bed while seven prison guards stood by. A subsequent investigation by Governor Deval Patrick’s administration led him to place three of the guards on paid administrative leave and formally reprimand two top correction officials while asking for the resignation of a third.