BANGOR – An out-of-court settlement has been reached in the federal lawsuit against two Somerset County jail guards who were sued by an inmate’s mother after the prisoner hanged himself with a bedsheet at the jail.

No details of the settlement will be released, however, because of the nondisclosure terms of the agreement.

Joseph M. Hayes, 20, hanged himself July 27, 2002, less than a week after returning from a mental health facility where he had been sent after a prior suicide attempt at the jail. He had been held for two weeks in the Skowhegan jail on a probation violation.

The day Hayes died, “he became rowdy and threw something at the glass window between the control room and the holding cell,” the complaint stated.

It was also alleged that John Davis, a control room operator, pulled down the window shade and was unable to watch Hayes by video monitor or through the window.

Hayes’ mother, Mary Martin of Skowhegan, filed the $1 million lawsuit in 2004, which originally named Somerset County Sheriff Barry A. DeLong and jail corrections officers Davis, Frederick Hartley and Daniel Rivard as defendants.

Martin could not be reached for comment.

In August, however, U.S. Magistrate Judge Margaret Kravchuck dismissed the claims against DeLong and Rivard, saying DeLong had no contact or control over the situation and Rivard’s only role was to help cut Hayes down once he was discovered hanging.

Kravchuk also determined that the evidence did not support the claim of indifference in the actions, including resuscitation, that the three corrections officers took after Hayes was discovered hanging in the cell.

The lawsuit alleged that the corrections officers acted with “deliberate indifference” in failing to check on Hayes adequately after he had been placed in a segregated cell that normally is used as a holding area.

Hartley and Davis were represented by attorney Michael Schmidt of Waterville, who said Monday that Hartley died suddenly several weeks ago, leaving Davis the lone defendant.

Davis still works at the jail, according to Steven Giggey, jail administrator.

Schmidt said the settlement was reached Thursday during a judicial settlement with Kravchuk.

Schmidt said that in sad cases such as these, often neither side in a settlement feels they got what they wanted.

“But in terms of moving past an issue, maybe a settlement is a good thing,” he said.