Whoops!
WTF is wrong with this country. :bleeding:
link (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/night-in-the-cells-accidentally-became-two-years-in-solitary-6295937.html?fb_action_ids=10150557182026194%2C2681179390514%2C3235505735821%2C2354119912965%2C10150556255244779&fb_action_types=news.reads&fb_source=other_multiline#access_token=AAADWQ6323IoBANxQsPMlsNWzpCB4dvkDZBn7ZB2FmAQ3JtdZCUBLDSIyK6VWE81Jf9ZAJY10emBpCgknx9EYyrOlE7tgBH823r7rk80XZAILaAssOQvrF&expires_in=3743)
QuoteNight in the cells accidentally became two years in solitary
Suspected drunk driver wins $22m after he was forgotten, isolated – and terribly neglected
Stephen Slevin was driving along a rural highway in southern New Mexico in August 2005 when traffic police pulled him over and arrested him on suspicion of drink-driving, along with a string of other motoring offences.
By the time all of the charges against him were dismissed and Mr Slevin was released from custody, it was 2007. For reasons that remain unclear, officials had forced him to spend the intervening two years in solitary confinement.
During the ordeal, he claims to have been denied access to basic washing facilities for months at a time. He'd lost a third of his body weight, grown a beard down to his chest and was suffering from bed sores. Prison officials had also ignored his pleas to see a dentist, forcing him to pull out his own tooth. They declined other requests for attention, including an audience with a mental health professional. He duly became delirious and says that by the time of his release he'd "been driven mad".
This week, a jury in Albuquerque ordered Dona Ana County, which was responsible for incarcerating Slevin without trial, to pay $22m (£14m) in compensation. It was the largest award ever granted to a US prisoner whose civil rights have been violated.
"Prison officials were walking by me every day, watching me deteriorate," Mr Slevin, who still suffers from post traumatic stress disorder, told reporters. The court heard how he was originally arrested on suspicion of drink-driving and "receiving a stolen vehicle". He was thrown into solitary confinement after officers learned that he suffered from depression and decided he might be suicidal.
Matthew Coyte, a civil-rights lawyer who represented Mr Slevin, now 58, during the six-day trial, said he was then "forgotten" and left to "decay".
In letters to staff at Dona Ana County Jail, Mr Slevin claimed to be depressed and unable to sleep in the solitary "pod" there. As time went on, he told them he'd begun hallucinating. No doctor was called, but at the behest of a prison nurse, who had a bachelor's degree in psychology but no medical qualifications, he was given some sedatives. It wasn't until June 2007 that Mr Slevin went before a judge, at which point he was immediately released into the mental health system on the grounds that he was by then incapable of participating in his own defence.
The case throws an uncomfortable light on the use of solitary confinement in the US justice system. At present, an estimated 50,000 inmates are housed in such circumstances, sometimes for years at a time. Dona Ana County had previously offered Mr Slevin $2m to drop his compensation case. It pledged to appeal the $22m award, saying: "we believe we have strong legal issues to raise."
2 years in a box for 22 million bucks. Worth it or not? :hmm:
Looks like Slevin's lucky number is 22
Absolutely not.
Everyone involved should be shot. Probably including Mr. Slevin, the poor, poor motherfucker.
Also is he being taxed on this? Be kind of funny if the state gets a chunk back.
Quote from: HVC on February 14, 2012, 12:01:19 AM
Also is he being taxed on this? Be kind of funny if the state gets a chunk back.
Depends upon how the damages are characterized. It says "compensation" in the article. If the damages are indeed compensatory for the direct harm done by the state, I think they aren't. I'm not 100% sure, though.
Quote from: Peter Wiggin on February 13, 2012, 11:57:33 PM
2 years in a box for 22 million bucks. Worth it or not? :hmm:
If I knew I would be getting 22M while in there yes, if not, uhh no.
Quote from: Peter Wiggin on February 13, 2012, 11:57:33 PM
2 years in a box for 22 million bucks. Worth it or not? :hmm:
Yes.
One, I suspect there is more to the story than what is reported in the article. Two, I don't think the guy has received the US$22 million yet. He still has years of legal battles ahead before he'll get the money. Also, are US counties rich enough to pay that kind of money?
Quote from: Ideologue on February 14, 2012, 12:01:03 AM
Absolutely not.
Everyone involved should be shot. Probably including Mr. Slevin, the poor, poor motherfucker.
And especially all the Brits who say "drink driving".
I too think there has to be more to this but as presented...just wtf?
Quote from: Peter Wiggin on February 13, 2012, 11:57:33 PM
2 years in a box for 22 million bucks. Worth it or not? :hmm:
Before or after taxes?
Hey, US lawtalkers - what are the chances of prison staff/police involved in this facing serious criminal charges?
Quote from: Monoriu on February 14, 2012, 02:17:22 AM
One, I suspect there is more to the story than what is reported in the article. Two, I don't think the guy has received the US$22 million yet. He still has years of legal battles ahead before he'll get the money. Also, are US counties rich enough to pay that kind of money?
Yeah, as an individual thing.
As to the first point, indeed; one thing I took to heart was that in general, settlements are way better than judgments.
Quote from: Martinus on February 14, 2012, 04:14:44 AM
Hey, US lawtalkers - what are the chances of prison staff/police involved in this facing serious criminal charges?
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi637.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fuu91%2FMyasishchev%2F1968534-242781_classic_sub_zero_super.gif&hash=57daff068e8307d905aed5aaa5d07e5e29a85859)
Not worth it. The mental and physical toll is too much, plus opportunity costs.
Quote from: Phillip V on February 14, 2012, 04:22:06 AM
Not worth it. The mental and physical toll is too much, plus opportunity costs.
If I would know up front that's how it would end, it might be worth it (I don't think many people here can seriously claim that by being kept in a solitary containment for two years cost them $22 million of lost opportunity). However, I agree that the fact that you don't know where you are going to get out and the sheer horror of the situation makes it probably not worth it since you will be too nuts to enjoy it properly.
Quote from: Ideologue on February 14, 2012, 04:21:04 AM
Quote from: Martinus on February 14, 2012, 04:14:44 AM
Hey, US lawtalkers - what are the chances of prison staff/police involved in this facing serious criminal charges?
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi637.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fuu91%2FMyasishchev%2F1968534-242781_classic_sub_zero_super.gif&hash=57daff068e8307d905aed5aaa5d07e5e29a85859)
Doesn't show on my work computer. I assume it's zero? Here they would face serious prison time. I'm surprised America is such a freedom-less country.
Quote from: Martinus on February 14, 2012, 04:35:17 AM
Doesn't show on my work computer. I assume it's zero?
It's a guy in a blue and black ninja suit. That's all I'm giving you.
I wonder if Ninjas actually dressed like that. They'd be fairly conspicuous spies.
The active daily depravity that had to happen for two years is pretty shocking, but worse results happen all the time. He could've been shot by a trigger happy cop after retroactively "reaching for a gun", and it would be the cop's and his partner's word against no words from his dead body.
I'm not surprised that Martinus is such a faggot.
Quote from: Neil on February 14, 2012, 09:32:38 AM
I'm not surprised that Martinus is such a faggot.
Well after this many years i'd hope not.
Award has been reduced to 15.5 Million.
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fl3.yimg.com%2Fbt%2Fapi%2Fres%2F1.2%2FPDGA2ooctMPZ.5FJWXUkXA--%2FYXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTYzMA--%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Fmedia.zenfs.com%2Fen%2Fblogs%2Fthelookout%2Fbookingphoto2.jpg&hash=2b2aeea95753cb6754e3013c5d43a6e128476930)
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/neglected-prisoner-gets-15-5-million-serving-22-181425242.html
QuoteStephen Slevin spent 22 months in solitary confinement in a New Mexico jail. During that time, his mental health deteriorated, fungus grew on his skin, and he was forced to pull his own tooth after being denied access to a dentist. A recent settlement with Dona Ana County resulted in Slevin receiving $15.5 million.
Initially, Slevin was awarded $22 million by a jury, but Dona Ana County appealed. The two parties reached an agreement this week. According to NBC News, Slevin's attorney, Matt Coyte, said his client's "mental health has been severely compromised from the time he was in that facility. That continues to be the same. No amount of money will bring back what they took away from him. But it's nice to be able to get him some money so he can improve where he is in life and move on."
During his 22 months in solitary confinement, Slevin developed bedsores and lost 50 pounds. The ordeal began in 2005 when he was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and stealing a car, which he says he borrowed from a friend. Slevin was never brought before a judge nor was he officially convicted of any crime. He said he wrote letters, begging for help with his depression. The before and after photos show the effect the 22 months of neglect had.
"Why they did what they did, I'll never know," Slevin told KOB4-TV. "Walking by me, watching me deteriorate day after day after day, and they did nothing at all to get me help."
Slevin's attorney said his client was battling depression at the time of his arrest. His health woes continue. He was recently diagnosed with lung cancer. He also suffers from post traumatic stress disorder due to his time in jail.
Jess Williams, Dona Ana County's public information director, told NBC News that the jail is making an effort to improve the way it treats prisoners with mental illness.
Get promoted and arm yourself.
Can fifteen million dollars of real money be put to use? It can't. At least Lee Woo-Jin gave Oh Dae-Su a TV and had a hot hypnotized Korean girl waiting for him on the outside.
I'm glad he got most of his money, but there's really no amount of money that would fully compensate him. Like I said last year, the only righteous thing to do would be to kill everyone involved. Unfortunately the lung cancer and madness may preclude completely justified vengeance.
Also, I must say, my Mortal Kombat reference was excellent.
Quote from: Ideologue on March 09, 2013, 12:48:06 AM
Also, I must say, my Mortal Kombat reference was excellent.
Although I disagree with everything else you said in this thread, your Sub Zero pic was indeed well-timed. :hug:
Quote from: Peter Wiggin on February 13, 2012, 11:57:33 PM
2 years in a box for 22 million bucks. Worth it or not? :hmm:
Oh yea. I'd damn sure give it my best go.
Quote from: Peter Wiggin on February 13, 2012, 11:57:33 PM
2 years in a box for 22 million bucks. Worth it or not? :hmm:
Depends what age you are when you go in.
Ok so let me get this straight: other than the intent behind it, how is this case different from Sergei Magnitsky's case? At least Magnitsky got a (kangaroo) trial - this guy effectively was killed (the lung cancer will kill him soon) by illegal imprisonment.
Where is the outrage over people guilty of this not being brought to justice?
The story can't be simply as reported here, or there's no way the prison staff wouldn't be facing criminal charges...
Quote from: Pitiful Pathos on March 09, 2013, 07:20:22 AM
The story can't be simply as reported here, or there's no way the prison staff wouldn't be facing criminal charges...
This is America, man. Nobody goes to jail for sending people to jail. You just get sued.
Quote from: CountDeMoney on March 09, 2013, 08:15:10 AM
Quote from: Pitiful Pathos on March 09, 2013, 07:20:22 AM
The story can't be simply as reported here, or there's no way the prison staff wouldn't be facing criminal charges...
This is America, man. Nobody goes to jail for sending people to jail. You just get sued.
Yeah you don't put burdensome government regulation in the way of a growth industry.
A Kangaroo court is different to me because it's active and intentional miscarriage of justice. This guy basically fell through the cracks and was neglected. Neither should happen, but one is the difference between me crippling a child by staking it to the driveway and driving over its legs with my 8,000 lb truck and me crippling a child by letting them play around dangerous construction equipment and falling and paralyzing themselves from the waist down. Both should be punished as parental lapses but one is vastly more serious an offense in my mind.
From what I can see basically a few things conspired against this guy. One, the court system for some reason took a very long time to handle his drunk driving case. Two years isn't normal, at least here in the Commonwealth of Virginia where drunk driving cases are usually fully disposed of within four months time. Two, it appears he was kept confined during his pretrial period (which as stated, was way longer than is normal) because he was deemed incompetent in some way. However, instead of getting diverted permanently to a psychiatric facility as would have happened here in Virginia it seems like he got shuffled back and forth between the jail and such a facility once or twice and was mostly forgotten about. I think a lot of bureaucratic fuck ups must have happened, and basically because this guy was unable to advocate for himself and he didn't have any really good advocate on the outside there was no external force able to help him. At least in Virginia a half-drunk public defender would have been aware enough to make sure this kind of thing didn't happen, apparently in Arizona they don't run their shit nearly as well.
All of that means a system that was extremely derelict in its responsibilities and a man deserving of remuneration, but it's not the same as a system intentionally falsely convicting and imprisoning someone.
Where I am right now in life, I would not do 2 years for $22mil (or $15mil), but in my younger days before I was married and before I had a kid and when my finances weren't so good I'd be inclined to try two years in solitary for that kind of bank. Obviously "knowing" you only had to do two years, and being sane, would probably be big advantages over a guy who was already mentally unstable and was quickly pushed over the edge by prolonged solitary (something that can mess up even mentally stable persons.)
Back when I was in high school I had a job bagging groceries, and a guy there got arrested for damaging a toilet in a bar. Sort of like this guy he fell through the cracks and stayed in jail 30 days without any type of hearing, and when the authorities figured it out they just let him go.
The guy was really dumb--probably a borderline mental handicap--and didn't seem to have any friends or close family.
I think I might try a month for $645,000. Two years for the full $15.5m? No way.
Quote from: Ideologue on March 09, 2013, 01:00:59 PM
I think I might try a month for $645,000. Two years for the full $15.5m? No way.
Well a month is nothing. I think you'd have to go at least a year to get any amount, otherwise it's not even a real test. People have gone through worse, I guess is why I can imagine this. Many WWII POWs didn't get a penny and were held for longer, same for Vietnam veteran POWs. They came back and lead productive lives.
Quote from: OttoVonBismarck on March 09, 2013, 02:09:06 PM
Well a month is nothing. I think you'd have to go at least a year to get any amount, otherwise it's not even a real test. People have gone through worse, I guess is why I can imagine this. Many WWII POWs didn't get a penny and were held for longer, same for Vietnam veteran POWs. They came back and lead productive lives.
On the other hand Bruce Dern tried to blow up the Super Bowl.
Quote from: Martinus on March 09, 2013, 04:38:46 AM
Ok so let me get this straight: other than the intent behind it, how is this case different from Sergei Magnitsky's case? At least Magnitsky got a (kangaroo) trial - this guy effectively was killed (the lung cancer will kill him soon) by illegal imprisonment.
Where is the outrage over people guilty of this not being brought to justice?
I have serious doubts that the lung cancer was caused by his confinement.
Quote from: dps on March 10, 2013, 03:16:53 AM
I have serious doubts that the lung cancer was caused by his confinement.
OK, doctor.
Is this how we gave Chavez cancer now?
Quote from: Admiral Yi on March 09, 2013, 02:54:24 PM
Quote from: OttoVonBismarck on March 09, 2013, 02:09:06 PM
Well a month is nothing. I think you'd have to go at least a year to get any amount, otherwise it's not even a real test. People have gone through worse, I guess is why I can imagine this. Many WWII POWs didn't get a penny and were held for longer, same for Vietnam veteran POWs. They came back and lead productive lives.
On the other hand Bruce Dern tried to blow up the Super Bowl.
Wait, which movie is that a reference to? I'm drawing a blank.
Quote from: OttoVonBismarck on March 10, 2013, 12:20:51 PM
Wait, which movie is that a reference to? I'm drawing a blank.
Black Sunday. Bruce Dern was blimp pilot.
Then he went into space and killed people while he was trying to save plants.
Then he moved to the suburbs.
And then he opened his eyes and he was baptized and became Paul. Shit, that was Harry Dean Stanton.
Quote from: PDH on March 10, 2013, 12:53:14 PM
Then he went into space and killed people while he was trying to save plants.
Yeah, but can you blame him?