NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal jury has held a private company responsible for operating a Louisiana jail where a man suffered fatal head injuries in 2015, leading to his death. The jury awarded the man’s family over $40 million in damages.

The legal team for Erie Moore Sr.’s family believes that this week’s verdict from the Western District of Louisiana ranks among the largest jury awards for an in-custody death in the United States.

“For the last decade, my sisters and I have been haunted by the thought that he wasn’t at peace,” expressed his son, Erie Moore Jr. “This trial has illuminated the darkness, bringing our family truth, justice, and peace.”

The 57-year-old mill worker and father of three, who had no prior criminal record, was arrested on October 12, 2015, for disturbing the peace at a doughnut shop in Monroe, Louisiana.

According to court documents, Moore became “agitated and noncompliant” during his intake at Richwood Correctional Center. His attorney, Max Schoening, stated that Moore was “mentally unwell” when he was detained.

Schoening says guards pepper-sprayed him at least eight times during the 36 hours he was in jail.

Moore was then brought to a secluded area of the jail without security cameras. He was kept there, out of sight, for nearly two hours, during which no one called for medical attention, court records show.

“The jury found the guards continued to use excessive force against Mr. Moore in the camera-less area,” Schoening said. “When sheriffs from another law enforcement agency arrived to pick him up to transport him to another jail they found him unconscious and completely unresponsive.”

When Moore eventually arrived at the hospital hours he was already in a coma and died about a month later, court records show. The Ouachita Parish coroner ruled Moore’s death a homicide due to the head injuries.

A federal jury found three guards liable for negligence, battery and excessive force. The jury also found LaSalle Management Co., which runs Richwood Correctional Center, liable for causing the death of Moore due to the negligence of at least one of its guards.

No one has been criminally charged in Moore’s death, Schoening added.

The jury ordered LaSalle and Richwood to pay $23.25 million in punitive damages and $19.5 million in compensation to Moore’s three adult children.

“This is the largest compensatory damage award I have ever heard of,” said Jay Aronson, a Carnegie Mellon University professor and author of “Death in Custody: How America Ignores the Truth and What We Can Do about It.”

The city of Monroe contracted the Richwood Correctional Center facility for its jail from 2001 to 2019. LaSalle, which is part of the same business enterprise as Richwood Correctional Center, operates detention facilities across Louisiana and Texas, court filings show.

The Richwood Correctional Center now serves as a federal immigration detention site. Last year, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency stated that LaSalle is an “important part of ICE’s detention system.”

LaSalle did not respond to requests for comment sent to its attorneys or a spokesperson. The City of Monroe declined to comment.

“Erie Moore Sr.’s life was a gift to his family and community. LaSalle Management Co. ended it with utter indifference,” Schoening said. “It is a testament to his children’s love, courage, and resilience that, in the face of enormous obstacles, they obtained justice for their father and a historic victory for civil rights in this country.”

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