Truth Emulating Fiction
When Alexandre Dumas wrote his famous book The Count of Monte Cristo he described the anguish of a wrongfully imprisoned man and the conditions of his penal confinement. In particular his description of the solitary confinement of his protagonist and the suffering and psychological damage done to him; his eventual escape and his determination to seek revenge on those responsible for his imprisonment.It was an adventure novel with psychological insight that captured the imagination of the French reading public and became an international classic.
And, here is life imitating art, with the story of an American man, Stephen Slevin, who was arrested for suspected drunk driving, and held in solitary confinement for almost two years; literally forgotten about, and left to decay in a state of suspended animation, his life trickling away, no human contact, no resources available to him that might remind him he was still a human being.
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| csmonitor |
The man went from resembling a normal individual to one suffering the physical and mental plight of the barest of existence. He was never convicted. At age 59 he spent 22 months in a jail in New Mexico. Set aside, his presence never an issue for anyone, he developed bedsores and fungus, falling into a state of mental delirium. His hair grew long and unkempt, his toenails curled under his feet. He might have imagined himself dead to the world.
Never seen by a judge, he was already seen to be depressed on arrival at the Dona Ana detention centre. As a result, he was placed in a padded cell. For his own protection, evidently. From there he was placed in solitary confinement. Isolation so complete from human contact that he might not have existed at all, as far as anyone might be concerned. And no one appeared to be concerned.
He sued the jail after his case was eventually dismissed, his presence re-discovered. A jury awarded him $22-million in damages in January 2012. The jail appealed, feeling it had no reason to pay a fine of this magnitude. Mediation ensued, and he was finally offered a $15.5-million settlement, representing one of the largest U.S. civil rights payouts ever given to a prisoner.
No word whether that money will serve to assuage his nightmares.
Labels: Controversy, Crime, Culture, Health, Human Relations, Human Rights, United States
posted by Pieface @ Saturday, March 09, 2013
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