Kansas Judge Dismisses Murder Charge Against Sheriff’s Deputy
The judge said prosecutors had failed to meet their burden in the case against a deputy charged in the 2025 jailhouse death of an inmate.
Richard Fatherley is a Wyandotte County Sheriff’s deputy beloved by all those who know him and work with him. But for the last year, his whole life has been turned upside down by a vindictive District Attorney who, in my opinion, is on a crusade against law enforcement officers. Richard was simply doing his job when he came to the assistance of his fellow deputies who were trying to restrain a noncompliant inmate – an inmate who, the evidence showed, had no business being in the Wyandotte County Jail. The evidence presented in this case documents the myriad health issues the inmate had upon his incarceration, which included:
Diabetes mellitus
Severe hypertensive cardiovascular disease
Marked cardiomegaly — heart weight approximately 660 grams
Biventricular cardiac hypertrophy
Cardiac electrical/conduction abnormality requiring an implanted pacemaker
Hypertension
Hyperlipidemia
Hepatic cirrhosis
Chronic osteomyelitis
Large, chronically infected wound of the left lower leg
Significant impaired mobility — relied on a wheelchair/walker and had difficulty bearing weight
History of thromboembolic disease
Pulmonary congestion and edema
Bilateral pleural effusions
Richard was one of FIVE deputies who had to restrain the inmate when he fought and struggled with jail staff. For approximately 90 seconds, Richard had his knee on the inmate’s lower back until he finally agreed to allow deputies to remove his handcuffs so that he could be left safely in his jail cell. Tragically, the inmate died after this interaction with the jail staff.
Perhaps most importantly in this case, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) determined that no crime occurred, and the KBI refused to submit a probable cause affidavit supporting charges against Richard. That did not stop the District Attorney from moving forward with charging Richard with murder in the second degree – reckless, or alternatively, involuntary manslaughter. Fortunately, at the conclusion of the preliminary hearing, a Wyandotte County judge found that the State failed to prove that Richard's acts were the proximate cause of the inmate's death. The judge dismissed the charges against Richard.
Richard placed his trust in the Law Office of James L. Spies to represent him in this case, and the result was the dismissal of all charges. When you or someone you know is facing serious criminal charges, call the Law Office of James L. Spies before it’s too late!
