MORGANTON, N.C. (AP) -- Just under a year after eight inmates died in a jail fire, a panel began meeting Thursday to decide how to divide $1.1 million among 14 survivors and family members of those killed.
The arbitration was agreed to in January as part of a $2 million settlement among Mitchell County; the families of the inmates who died when the fire swept through the county jail in Bakersville; and nine inmates who survived.
Georgia Davis, whose son Jesse was among those killed in the May 3, 2002, fire, read a statement about her son during the hearing.
``I looked at my family and I said, 'We don't know how lucky we are _ nobody's ever been sick or died in our family,''' Davis said. ``And a few months later, he's dead.''
Afterward, she said she was pleased that the arbitrators seemed concerned about her loss.
Some inmates were serving time for misdemeanors, others were awaiting trial. Each received an initial $50,000 from the settlement.
Now, the three arbitrators will decide how to divide the remaining money among 14 claimants. Three inmates who survived have chosen not to participate.
No criminal charges have been brought in the fire, but a report released by the state Labor Department said state and county inspectors repeatedly failed to detect ``serious safety deficiencies'' at the jail.
Investigators have said the fire was caused by cardboard that ignited when it was stacked against a heater in a storage room.
