Government Pays Scholar's Family with $880,000 Settlement
July 7, 2009
Los Angeles, California - The US government will pay $880,000 as part of a settlement to the family of Roxanne Brown, the scholar who died in the federal custody while waiting for her court hearing last year.
Brown, a 62-year-old scholar who specialized in Southeast Asian history and culture, died due to bleeding ulcer inside a federal detention center in Seattle. According to reports, she was arrested on charges of allegedly donating looted relics to several museums in California and conniving with an alleged smuggler.
In a statement, US Attorney’s Office Spokeswoman Emily Langlie said giving settlement to Brown’s family is in the best interest of the government in resolving the case, adding that they deeply regret the scholar’s death.
According to the lawsuit filed by Brown’s family, the federal authorities’ negligence was the cause of her death, adding that they failed to provide her medical treatment and ignored her condition.
Brown’s fellow inmates were interviewed and said they saw her crying in pain and shouting for help hours before she died.
Last year, hundreds of federal agents raided four museums in California including Mingei Museum, Pacific Asia Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and Bowers Museum following investigations which revealed that some artifacts may have been acquired through looting.
