A former Anderson County pretrial release officer is mostly to blame for a savage jailhouse beating by inmates that left a man with permanent eye damage, an Anderson County Circuit Court judge ruled Wednesday.

Terri McCloud took nearly four hours to show up at the jail to sign release papers for Kenneth E. King, Judge Don Elledge ruled.

Still, King should receive $93,500 for pain and suffering, mental anguish and a permanent loss of some vision in his right eye, the judge ruled.

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And by law, Elledge said, Anderson County has to pick up the $32,599 tab for King’s medical expenses.

During that time, King, 42, of the Claxton community was beaten by cell mates in a shakedown in search of drugs, testimony showed.

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But the judge dismissed the crux of the lawsuit filed against the county, ruling jail employees weren’t negligent in placing King in a medium-security cell with violent felons.