Kansas City, Kan. (August 28, 2026) –– Nationally renowned civil rights and personal injury attorney Ben Crump, along with co-counsel Harry Daniels and Sue-Ann Robinson, responded today after a Wyandotte County judge dismissed the second-degree murder charge against Deputy Richard Fatherley in the in-custody death of Charles Adair. The Wyandotte County District Attorney’s Office has filed notice of appeal with the Kansas Court of Appeals.
Charles Adair, 50, was booked into the Wyandotte County Detention Center on misdemeanor warrants and used a wheelchair because of a serious leg infection. On July 5, 2025, during a struggle with detention staff in his cell, a deputy knelt on his back while Adair was face down. He was pronounced dead a short time later, and the coroner ruled his death a homicide caused by mechanical asphyxia. The family’s federal civil rights lawsuit against Wyandotte County, Fatherley, and Sheriff Daniel Soptic remains pending, and the legal team continues to call for the public release of the jail video of Adair’s final minutes.
Attorneys Crump, Daniels, and Robinson released the following statement:
“We want to thank the Wyandotte County District Attorney’s Office. That office brought this case when it would have been easier not to, and it moved immediately to take it to the Kansas Court of Appeals. It is standing with the Adair family, and this family sees it.
“Charles Adair was in that jail on misdemeanor warrants. He used a wheelchair. He did not come home to his family. The coroner ruled his death a homicide by mechanical asphyxia, and that record stands. This ruling addressed what the state established at a preliminary hearing. It did not close this case.
“So the fight for Charles is not over. The appeal is moving forward. The family’s lawsuit is moving forward. And our demand has not changed: release the video. This family has seen what happened in that cell. More than a year later, the public still has not, and the public has every right to. We are not going to stop asking for it.”
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ABOUT BEN CRUMP LAW
Through his work, nationally renowned civil rights and personal injury attorney Ben Crump has spearheaded a legal movement to better protect the rights of marginalized citizens. He has led landscape-changing civil rights cases and represented clients in a wide range of areas including civil rights, personal injury, labor and employment, class actions, and more. Ben Crump Law is dedicated to holding the powerful accountable. For more information, visit bencrump.com.
