BALTIMORE (AP) — A judge in Baltimore has slashed the damages awarded in the death of a state prison inmate who was murdered aboard a prison bus in 2005.

In a decision released Tuesday, Baltimore City Circuit Judge Sylvester Cox reduced the jury award from $18.5 million to
$600,000.

Cox ruled that a state law limits the state’s liability to $200,000 per claimant. He found that Philip Parker Jr.’s mother,
father and estate were each entitled to that much. Their lawyer says they’ll appeal.

Inmate Kevin Johns was convicted of strangling Parker as the bus traveled on Interstate 70 from Hagerstown to Baltimore.

Cox reversed a jury finding that the head correctional officer on the bus was grossly negligent. And he said three other officers found negligent were public officials immune from liability.

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