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Subscribe to RSSA man in New Mexico has been awarded $22 million after being tossed in solitary confinement for 2 years following a DWI arrest. KOB-TV's Marissa Torres reports.
A man arrested for driving while intoxicated and then forced into solitary confinement for two years tried to get help by writing to the jail's nurse, but the only response he got was a dose of sedatives, his lawyer said.
Stephen Slevin, 57, was arrested in August 2005 in New Mexico’s Dona Ana County, charged with aggravated driving while under the influence and possession of a stolen vehicle, although Slevin maintains the car was lent to him by a friend. On Tuesday, a federal jury in Sante Fe awarded him $22 million in damages for enduring inhumane conditions in the Dona Ana County jail, which he emerged from "hollow," Matt Coyte, his lawyer, told msnbc.com on Wednesday.
Slevin had one medical examination after being arrested and was labeled suicidal, his lawyer said. He was jailed in lieu of posting a $40,000 bond.
“They put him in a padded cell for three days, but they never give him any treatment; their policy is to then just put them in solitary” if there are mental health issues, Coyte told msnbc.com Wednesday.
Coyte described Slevin in court documents as suffering with lifelong mental illness. He told msnbc.com that at the time of his arrest, Slevin had been depressed, and was borrowing a friend’s car because he wanted to get out of Las Cruces, N.M., where he had been living at the time.
He was physically healthy, but desperate to get treatment for his depression that he had been suffering with prior to being in solitary confinement - a cell with no natural light that prisoners are in 23 hours a day, although often times, guards failed to even grant Slevin his one hour of daily recreation time, his lawyer told msnbc.com.
Slevin sent more than a dozen letters to the jail nurse starting days after he was arrested, NBC affiliate KOB.com reported.
“I have not slept in days,” says one letter from Sept. 4, 2005, a couple weeks into solitary confinement. “I’m in a deep depression.” The letter also mentions his lack of appetite.
His mental decline
Two months later, KOB.com reported, Slevin wrote a letter again pleading for help, saying, “My dreams have been both weird and bizarre.”
By the end of November 2005, he wrote, “I’m afraid to close my eyes.”
Coyte, his lawyer, told KOB that if Slevin got any response at all, it was just to up his sedatives.
“He referred to a ‘Dr. Don’ [in the letters],” Coyte told KOB.com. “There was no doctor looking after him. There was a nurse, the nurse practitioner.”
But the so-called nurse practitioner only had a bachelor’s degree in psychology and no actual medical qualifications, KOB reported.
After a few months, Slevin gave up, writing: “I don’t know how much longer I can go on.”
“That was when he fell into a delirium,” Coyte told KOB.com.
Meanwhile, correspondence with the outside world tapered off as well, Coyte told msnbc.com on Thursday.
“His sister was writing him letters and sending him money,” Coyte said. “She thought he would get out soon enough; she would send him small amounts of money every few weeks.”
But when she didn’t hear back from Slevin, she became concerned. She called the jail, Coyte said, but was not given much information.
“She had no idea the condition he was in,” he said. “She is on the other side of the country with limited means. She wrote letters and he responded at the beginning, but then he lost touch with her. If your family member doesn’t write back, you may feel like they don’t want to talk you anymore; it wouldn’t cross your mind that something like this was happening.”
It wouldn’t be until months later that Slevin’s sister, whose name and location Coyte did not give, found out what her brother was going through: Forced to pull out his own tooth because he was denied access to a dentist, he told reporters on Tuesday. Toenails curling around his foot because they were so long. Basically forgotten about in his dark cell for more than 22 months.
"[Jail guards were] walking by me every day, watching me deteriorate," Slevin told KOB.com. "Day after day after day, they did nothing, nothing at all, to get me any help."
Slevin’s sister and other family members actively fought for his release near the end of his detainment once they became aware of his plight, Coyte told msnbc.com Thursday.
“It was her and his aunt and various other family members who were calling legislators, calling county commissioners, saying, ‘Where’s my brother?’” he said.
'Deplorable' conditions
The answer, for most of his 22-month detainment, was that he was in “deplorable” conditions of his solitary “pod,” court documents state, except for a 14-day period in May 2007, when he was sent to New Mexico Behavioral Health Institute in Las Vegas, N.M., for a psychiatric review. He had lost a third of his body weight by that point, documents say, and had bed sores and a fungal infection on his skin.
“As your insanity builds, some people holler or throw feces out their cell doors,” Coyte said Wednesday. “Others rock back and forth under a blanket for a year or more, which is what my client did.”
At the Behavioral Health Institute, Slevin was able to shower and to shave his beard, which had grown long and scraggly during his time in solitary, Coyte said. His mood improved. But after two weeks there, he was sent back to his solitary pod in jail for another month, at which point his mental state deteriorated to the point where he was deemed unfit to participate in his defense, and all charges against him were ultimately dismissed. He was released on June 25, 2007.
It's not clear why he was sent back to solitary after his stint in the mental health institute.
Dona Ana County officials were tight-lipped about the case, refusing to answer questions about whether any jail employees were reprimanded or fired over Slevin's treatment.
"We do not discuss personnel issues," Jess Williams, Dona Ana County's public information director, told msnbc.com on Wednesday.
Williams also wouldn't comment on whether the $22 million the county was ordered to pay would come from taxpayer money, saying only, "Dona Ana County will appeal the verdict."
Coyte sued the Dona Ana County Board of County Commissioners, the County Detention Center, and the jail director and former medical director in December 2008. According to court documents, the county jail’s former medical director, Daniel Zemek prescribed “complicated psychotropic medications” to Slevin without ever seeing him, and renewed prescriptions for him for at least 10 months without an in-person visit. Zemek left the county jail but an adequate replacement for him wasn’t provided, the court documents allege, so jail director Chris Barela continued to have Zemek prescribe medication to Slevin, despite not treating him.
John W. Caldwell, the defendants’ attorney, did not return a phone call from msnbc.com on Thursday.
Coyte, Slevin’s attorney, said greed on the county’s part was partially to blame.
“Talk to the [Dona Ana] County Commissioners who were around in 2000 to 2004 who knew this stuff was going on, and didn’t care,” he said. “Another side to this case is this jail was built to make money housing federal detainees. This is a border town. There are a lot of federal detainees from immigration issues, and the jail charges the federal government a particular amount of money for each detainee.”
Slevin was a county inmate.
“Federal inmates got better care than state inmates,” he said. “There would be better psychiatric care for the federal inmates than for the state or county inmates.”
Slevin will take lifelong medication for his PTSD, although he continues to have support from his sister, Coyte said. Court records show he now lives in Virginia Beach, Va.
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News
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You will never see this kind of real life story on TV shows like "Cops". If the county doesn't have insurance then the tax payer is going to have to pony up. Vote them out, fire employees, and put their faces on the news so we can see who these despicable people are. Shame on these people. Who else is being treated this way. Investigate the piss out that county.
Isn't this a typical example of the mentality (or lack thereof) of most jail employees?
It would seem that if the taxpayers that will have to pay the price for someones actions they should have the right to know who did it to them, not to be told that they don't have the right to know. Baring that they should have them all arrested for their actions and sent to prison themselves. Starting with the Supervisors and Heads of departments that were being paid to see that these things don't happen. The problem it seems to me is that no one is held responsible for his or her actions. Moral or ethical responsibility is like honor, NIMBY.
I'm sorry, when asked if any of the officers were reprimanded, "We do not discuss personnel issues," is NOT the correct answer. As long as taxpayer dollars are being used to pay the salaries of these incompetent "people", everything about this should be public record. Well, public record only to those citizens willing to pay a fee for "processing the request for information". Ridiculous!
Puts a face on the attitude of the A type personalities that are drawn to law enforcement . Stop and think about the person that knows he is given the right to take a life as part of their job . they know going in that they can make that decision and can most likley take away your freedom on false charges if he so desires because cops are always right even when their wrong
The following are all in the Constitution Bill of Rights, and all appear to have been violated:
V. Provisons concerning prosecution
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation.
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Must be a shortage of toilet paper in Las Cruces, since they are having to wipe with the Constitution.
he should have been sent to Gitmo and every legislator would have turned out to fight for his rights. OH I'm sorry he an American citizen I forgot he has no rights.
CONDITIONS AT DETENTION CENTER FAR FROM 'DEPLORABLE'
Media coverage of the Stephen Slevin verdict against Doña Ana County has painted an inaccurate picture of the conditions found in the Doña Ana County Detention Center.
The Doña Ana County Detention Center was opened in 1996. In 1999, the county received $2 million from the U.S. Marshal's Service to partially fund a 290-bed expansion of the facility, bringing the total inmate capacity to 846. The detention center is not operated or supervised by the Doña Ana County Sheriff's Department. It is a stand-alone department within the county government structure.
The cells and cellblocks throughout the facility are clean, well-lit and have windows for detainees to look out and for officers to observe the detainees. General-population day rooms are large common areas surrounded by cell units. Day rooms are equipped with televisions and game tables, where the detainees can play board games, cards, checkers and chess.
General population detainees have access to both indoor and outdoor recreation areas, and they can avail themselves to a number of educational and rehabilitative programs offered by the staff, contractors and volunteers.
The building has an independent medical wing, with full dental and acute-care capabilities. The detainees also have access to library books and a fully stocked commissary. Visitation is available five days a week.
The facility is inspected twice annually by members of the Doña Ana County Board of Commissioners and regularly by the U.S, Marshal's Service, which rents out up to 300 beds per night for federal detainees.
The food served at the Doña Ana County Detention Center is nutritionally balanced and is prepared in a state-certified kitchen. Each detainee gets a cold breakfast and two hot meals each day, with a daily caloric average of 3,000 per detainee.
In the specific case of Slevin, he was deemed a threat to himself upon intake to the detention center and was observed for three days in a special cell in the medical wing for his own protection. After his condition stabilized, he was kept in the medical wing for an additional three weeks for observation.
After that period, he was offered an opportunity to join the general population in a cell block with a day room. Slevin refused, and the only option after his refusal was to place him in one of the facility's 28 administrative segregation cells.
For the next five months, records show that he regularly requested and received medical attention and commissary purchases. After that period, he stopped requesting those services. He frequently refused offers to leave his cell for recreation and exercise.
Slevin was in the facility for 22 months. No one on the Doña Ana County Detention Center management team had any authority to release him without a judge's orders. His length of stay in the facility was entirely in the hands of the Third Judicial District Attorney's Office, his court-ordered defense attorney and the Third Judicial District Court.
The cell area in which he was housed was monitored by cameras and by officer patrols throughout each and every day that he was housed at the facility. In addition, medical rounds were conducted three times daily, and prescribed medications were dispensed to Slevin and other detainees.
The Doña Ana County Detention Center has historically faced significant challenges in terms of treating mentally ill detainees, but the challenges were consistently addressed throughout the time Slevin was incarcerated, and the efforts continue to this day.
The main problem all along has been recruiting and retaining mental-health professionals willing to work full-time in a detention environment. Throughout the United States, detention centers and jails face staffing challenges owing to the fact that few people – much less medical professionals – are willing to work in a jail environment, regardless of the competitiveness of the salary parameters.
Since he was hired as the detention director in late 2005, Chris Barela has tackled the issue head-on by hiring staff, contracting for services and negotiated the elimination of the employee union from the medical wing to facilitate easier and more interactive and adaptive management of that sector of the facility.
During former Medical Director Daniel Zemek's tenure at the facility, he was recognized by the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill for his contributions to addressing mental health issues within the facility.
In 2007, Barela contracted for services in the medical wing to a licensed third-party provider whose personnel were better-suited to treating the mentally-ill population of the facility.
Slevin was in the Doña Ana County Detention Center on charges of aggravated DWI, driving on a suspended license, open container in the vehicle, multiple outstanding traffic violations and receiving or transferring stolen property. He had an extensive criminal history from other jurisdictions with multiple convictions on charges of both aggravated DWI and DWI, as well as multiple convictions for receiving stolen property, firearm infractions, possession of controlled substances, probation violations, robberies, burglaries and possession of burglary tools, criminal mischief and damage to property. He had previously served time in a Florida prison. His criminal history at the time of his arrest was 26 pages in length.
Doña Ana County is appealing the Slevin judgment and believes it has strong legal issues on which to base the appeal. In the meantime, it's critical that the public, the family of detainees and the media understand that the conditions of the facility are constantly monitored for cleanliness and professional, humane treatment of each detainee.
Jess C. Williams
Director of Public Information and Special Projects
Commission Liaison to the Public
Doña Ana County Manager's Office
845 N. Motel Blvd.
Las Cruces, N.M. 88007
You got your butt dragged across the floor of a court of law. Appeal all you like, I enjoy reading the transcripts from the SCOTUS. You'll just get more and more attention, and your budget will get smaller and smaller. And by the time you try to hand a Supreme Court Justice your excuses, you'll probably be facing criminal charges yourselves. You may not be made of the stern stuff of our forefathers, but I promise you, at the top, this country is still based on logic, law, and justice for the guilty.
There is no way you can pretty up the cruel treatment Mr Sleven endured.Just how much input from other than the director of the facility did the PIO get? Sounds like a whitewash of an awful place to me.
There is not enough money in the world to adequately compensate Mr Sleven for treatment received.
So do you routinely let the inmates "refuse" to do something? Knowing his mental state and how it would deteriorate in solitary confinement whether he wanted to be in there or not, the prudent and responsible thing to do would be not to give him the option. I call BS on the "he refused" excuse.
The public should expect nothing less than your response! The thin blue line closing ranks is what you make me think. You violated that man's civil rights, period! A right to a speedy trial, a right to an attorney, cruel and unusual punishment are just a few that come to mind. There is no excuse to hold someone that long on a DWI charge without a trial! BLAH BLAH BLAH, it wasn't our fault - they're all criminals and deserve to be treated in any way we deem.
This is so much BS. I'm a retired Law Enforcement Officer, and fully understand that you can only hold a subject without a trial for a limited time. Don't piss on my leg and tell me it's raining. You are not only incompetent, but criminally so.
You are wasting your time and the taxpayers' money with your long-winded BS, Mr. Williams. Get off the public dime IMMEDIATELY you lowlife parasite, or the public will come and remove you. You work the public, and the public thinks you are despicable and hates you and your kind, stealing from us while you imprison our brothers and sisters. We won't rest until YOU rot in jail for crimes against this society.
Old Squid, I wish I could give your comment a thumbs up 100 times. Who do they think they're bull$#!tting? Do they think nobody knows better?? Holy Christ!
I can't imagine allowing a human being placed in your care to be allowed to deteriorate like that. Why did he not "refuse" the services when he was at the Behavioral Health Institute? It said that at BHI he was given the opportunity to shower and shave, which are obviously opportunities he was denied at your facility. As to the initial reason why he was arrested, I guess we will never know if he was innocent or guilty, consider that, while under your care, he deteriorated to the point he was unable to participate in his own defense. I am amazed you still have your federal contract after this.
One more thing. Do you list his criminal history to justify keeping him in solitary? If he was a high profile public figure, would you put him in solitary, or just in a different area away from the general population?
Jess, you can put a dress on a turd and it's still a turd. You people basically tortured a guy nearly to death. Your "letter" is equal parts pass the buck and cover your ass. Don't forget how many zeros there are in 22,000,000. And I'm guessing there's a special place in hell for guys like you who make their living dressing up turds.
paint as nice a picture as you want, your insurance will be out big money and you will be out of a job no doubt
How sweet. Get paid to do this by the Governor?
Kinda failed Mr. Slevin here, didn't you, Mr. Williams? I'll say this: I'll bet if I spread you post on my lawn, I'd have the greenest grass in town.
Mr. Williams,
I suppose I can understand your attitude towrds Mr. Slevin. His extensive criminal history for which he had already served his time must make him guilty! Wow. You sound like a streotypical "good christian" who is better than everyone else. Look, all the stuff you cited he was arrested for were never proven. You do not have a leg to stand on. None. Are you trying to say that no one in that jail had the authority, or even the self-respect, to pick up the phone and call the court-appointed attorney for this guy to find out why he was still in the grey-bar hotel after 6 months? Never mind 22!! As noted above, no matter how you dress it, a turd is still a turd. And you sir, are a large pile.
Mr. Williams, this would be part of your "Special Projects" duties, I would have to assume...attempting to blame the victim for the crimes perpetrated against him while illegally confined in your facility. Hope each and every one of you involved in these crimes gets to do some time of your own.
Bet he won't drink and drive again anytime soon.
Because that was proven right? lol
Correct me if I am wrong. This man had his $40,000 in bail money was taken and he was not released. His sister's money she sent was stolen and the authorities were making money from the Feds for his incarceration. He was incarcerated without a trial, drugged and placed in solitary confinement and left to go insane and simply die. Shouldn't somebody be arrested and charged for crimes against humanity, torture, kidnapping, theft, false reporting to authorities, and conspiracy to commit fraud?
Yup! Just another day in the Land of Enchantment!
Welcome to the new American system of law. Civel liberties and laws to protect them are gone but at least we are safe from terrorist.
This is just really, really sad. The "system" has seriously failed this man.
Most jail employees work there because that's the only place where they can find anyone they can feel superior to.
Surprised this happened it New Mexico - sounds more like the out-of-control, thug-cop behavior usually found next door in Arizona.
""We do not discuss personnel issues," Jess Williams, Dona Ana County's public information director, told msnbc.com on Wednesday."
These govt backed bastards get away with murder with impunity. The police state in this country is sickening. Its 2012 and our prisons are like something out of the middle ages. I'm so pissed I'm shaking.
County jails have very little over sight. Most occupants (not all are found guilty when their trials do eventually occur) who are released do not share their stories of inhumane conditions-- and even if they do share the reality of life "behind bars" , very few care- or worse it becomes a reality show. The medical care is "experimental at best" - most are given meds along the line of Seroquel to sedate them, then they are easier for the guards to manage. No one looks at the standard of care given to the inmates-- we treat stray animals better. Unless LIGHT is brought into this putrid system of incarceration...nothing good can result from these gulags. I had been incarcerated (2009)for over 2 weeks in NC, only to have the charges dropped by the DA.
Now I have charges on my criminal record that I have to explain as I seek employment, and the nightmare experience of 2 weeks in a NC county jail. Don't ignore this problem- you or someone you know could be next- all it takes for evil to succeed, is for good people to do nothing.
What a bunch of animals in New Mexico’s Dona Ana County. They should take everyone of those idiots in that system and put them in solitary for two years. What a shame....its a total disgrace that idiots are in charge
of jail. How could they treat another human like a piece of crap, all over a DWI..... Now the victim is a millionaire...jokes on all those hillbillies. Nice going idiots....clowns.
This case cries for criminal prosecution against all the people who kept him incarcerated for two years.
Ever actually been inside a county jail for any length of time? I have (no, not as an inmate). You know who runs county jails? Picture in your head all the kids you ran into growing up who were equal parts mean and stupid. They grew up to run county jails. 75-80% of the guards, supervisors, and administrators are grown up bullies who like hurting and controling others. You can dress it up any way you want, but that's how it is. You can argue that lots of the people in the jails deserve harsh treatment.....but county jails aren't filled with just murderers and rapists...they're filled mostly with guys like this. Do they deserve to be tortured?
Oh, McLovin, you hit that nail dead on.
To answer your last question, we need "Guilty until proven innocent" Joyce from page 2 to chime in.
More federal dollars go to support the absolute inhuman conditions in New Mexico than any other state. They live in the Stone Age. And every, I mean every official in that pathetic state is a sadistic criminal. Not just a regular money grabber, sadistic. Their Colleges are even worse than their Justice System. They get more federal funds per person than any other state. What do we get? Worst in every category of what you don't want in a state. Public corruption and stealing federal dollars is the offical sport in New Mexico.
Prison staff love to think of themselves as professionals. But they are the armpit of the criminal justice system. Who grows up thinking "I want to be a prison guard"?
Mostly guys too mean and stupid to get hired as cops.
This Chris Barela fellow who ran the jail should be in front of the Judicial committee right now explaining how, and who, let this happen. he should remain in custody at GITMO until we have all the answers to all the questions. He is a domestic terrorist.
Have fun working at McDonald's for the rest of your life, Einsten! Did you grow up thinking that you'd like to ask someone whether or not they wanted fries with their order?
einstein, found your answer here, and by the response, mclovin is right on target
mike s, Shhhh, yur talking common sense andddddd they dun run OUT of that Commodity down thar in thaa County/STATE-too, uno-it.
UNO that they don have ANY good sherreefs like Arrriopaho in new meheeco so they gotta do as best as they can uno. Only thing wrong here tho izz jus thaa JOE A, wud NOT be the way NEW MEHEECO cops/jailers/prosecuetors are. ANNNNNNY buddy kin see that!
What a bunch of SCUMBAGGGGZ they are.
While i have neither patience nor tolerance for people who decide to get wasted on something then drive, this is beyond absurd treatment. Im glad they got financially slammed.
Ahhh Yes, in a jail built to make money. You just knew it had to come down to the money. My mother used to tell me it was the root of all evil. It's hard to dispute her on that point!