(Image source from: Denver attorney to shell out $3.25 million settlement to an inmate})

Denver city attorneys will have to fork out $3.25 million to a former jail inmate who has accused prison guards of overlooking his screams while being tortured. Not just that, he has said that the guard had tried to choke him to death after he complained about his pain and then tried to cover up the abuse. Apparently, this is the largest settlement of its kind.

The proposed settlement with Jamal Hunter is now awaiting the approval of the City Council and U.S. District Judge John Kane.

Kane said that even if he approves the settlement, he would order deeper probe into alleged misdeeds by the city.

"There needs to be corrective steps to make sure this doesn't happen again," Kane said. "It doesn't do any good to have one scandal after another."

City Attorney Scott Martinez told reporters the payment was not an admission of liability, but is "an opportunity to move forward."

Martinez also disclosed that he had placed one of his top attorneys on "investigatory leave" related to accusations of misconduct in the case.

The announcement came one day after Sheriff Gary Wilson stepped down amid a series of embarrassing disclosures about the department — some of which stemmed directly from the Hunter case.

AW: Suchorita Choudhury