Man Held in Solitary Confinement 2 Years After DWI Gets $22M

[Big Pimpin]

A man who spent two years in solitary confinement after getting arrested for DWI was awarded $22 million for suffering inhumane treatment in New Mexico's Dona Ana County Jail.

Stephen Slevin was arrested in August of 2005 for driving while intoxicated, according to NBC station KOB.com. He said he never got a trial and spent the entire time languishing in solitary, even pulling his own tooth when he was denied dental care.

"'[Prison officials were] walking by me every day, watching me deteriorate," he said. "Day after day after day, they did nothing, nothing at all, to get me any help."

Slevin said he made countless requests to see a doctor to get medication for his depression, but wasn't allowed to see one until only a few weeks before his release. He also never got to see a judge.

The $22 million settlement, awarded by a federal jury on Tuesday, is one of the largest prisoner civil rights settlements in U.S. history, according to KOB.com.

"I wanted people to know that there are people at The Dona Ana County Jail that are doing things like this to people and getting away with it," Slevin, who now suffers from PTSD and believes he will have to take medication for life as a result, said. "Why they did what they did, I have no idea."

Neither the county nor Slevin's attorney returned phone calls from msnbc.com, but Slevin's attorney, Matt Coyte, told KOB.com, "I have never been with or seen a braver man who stood up to these guys for what they did to him ... [This case] It affects everybody and it's not good for this country. It's not good for Mr. Slevin for sure and it's not good for this country. It has to stop."

Man Held in Solitary Confinement 2 Years After DWI Gets $22M | NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

 

[troubador]

What about charges against the county officials responsible?

Surely them saying "oops, our bad, here have some taxpayer money" is not the end of it.

 

[IronAddict]

Whoa!

Been to NM, but never to Dona Ana County. But that's just the incentive I need to never, ever visit that place.

This does need to be remedied, though. Somebody has to be held accountable, what is this, Old Mexico?

 

[Ichigo]

I've always wanted to visit NM but stayed away and will always stay away, because of screwed up things like this, that is one messed up state!

 

[Arnold]

wow.

 

[Little Wing]

2 years 22 million hmmmm. sign me up for dwi in new mexico.

seriously though how the hell did this happen? i hope they get to the bottom of it and shake loose every rat.

 

[maniclion]

I hate drunk drivers with a passion, but to throw a man in solitary without due process and deny him medical attention sounds like Taliban style justice... Everyone responsible needs to be sent to Kandahar for a couple of years of rehabilitation....

 

[maxpro2]

$22 million is not enough. Jail time is warranted for those cops and/or officials.

 

[Dark Geared God]

 

[Curt James]

Wonder how many similar stories are out there. This guy can't be the only one.

 

[GFR]

Good to see our tax dollars hard at work.



"Slevin, 58, was arrested in August 2005 and charged with driving while intoxicated and receiving a stolen vehicle near Las Cruces. His lawyers said the prison segregated him because he had a lifelong history of mental illness".

 

[Curt James]

Jesus. No dental and no barbers?

 

[Gissurjon]

Mentally ill with 22.000.000, anybody not like the sound of that?

 

[KelJu]

Mentally ill with 22.000.000, anybody not like the sound of that?

Hopefully 22 million can buy some good weapons and explosives, and a team of private detectives to find out where everyone involved lives. Not sure I could have that done to me and not kill some people over it.

 

[Curt James]

Hopefully 22 million can buy some good weapons and explosives, and a team of private detectives to find out where everyone involved lives. Not sure I could have that done to me and not kill some people over it.

Hard to believe he got out at all. Had those involved known he'd receive 22 million I bet he would have had an unfortunate accident in prison.

How did he get out? Buried for two years? Did he have an advocate who heard the story?

Stephen Slevin suffered post traumatic stress syndrome while in a New Mexico prison.

The one comment noted, "guys the town has insurance your city insurance policies will go up".

Wonder if that's where the 22 million will come from.

 

[_LG_]

I would happily do two years in solitary for that money.

 

[Dale Mabry]

Bet he won't drive drunk again

 

[Little Wing]

it's easy to say i'd do 2 years for 22 million but he had the added anguish of not knowing there was a cap on the time.

 

[maniclion]

Bet he won't drive drunk again

Hard to get a DWI while being driven around town in a stretch limo....

He'll buy a mansion and end up not being able to sleep in any room except for the linen closet....

 

[Queefer]

Thats actually really sad.

 

[Dark Geared God]

Hard to believe he got out at all. Had those involved known he'd receive 22 million I bet he would have had an unfortunate accident in prison.

How did he get out? Buried for two years? Did he have an advocate who heard the story?

Stephen Slevin suffered post traumatic stress syndrome while in a New Mexico prison.

The one comment noted, "guys the town has insurance your city insurance policies will go up".

Wonder if that's where the 22 million will come from.

It happens more often than you think.they fugured he's mental the courts would write him off...

 

[Curt James]

Bet he won't drive drunk again

Certainly not in that state.

Or at least one would freaking hope!

 

[SFW]

2 year fap session = $22M?

 

[charley]

When he got out the first thing he did was get a drink.......................

 

[Curt James]

Do NOT drink and drive in New Mexico!

(Or, hey, it might be your shot at fifteen mil!)

'Forgotten' inmate awarded $15 million

'Forgotten' inmate awarded $15 million - YouTube


Published on Mar 7, 2013
A New Mexico inmate was awarded $15 million after spending 22 months in solitary confinement without being convicted.

 

[Gregzs]

Update: appealed to $15.5 million

Stephen Slevin: $15.5 million awarded in solitary confinement case - CSMonitor.com

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.
A $15.5 million settlement has been reached to end the legal battle over the case of a U.S. man who was held in solitary confinement for two years without a trial and was so neglected that he took out his own tooth.


Stephen R. Slevin spent 22 months in a New Mexico county jail after being arrested for drunken driving but was never convicted, according to his lawsuit.

Attorney Matthew Coyte said his client ended up in solitary confinement after someone noted he was suicidal. He was so neglected, Coyte said, he was left in his cell for months at a time, had untreated dental problems and toenails that grew so long they curled under his feet.


The settlement announced Thursday stems from mediation ordered by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Dona Ana County was appealing a lower court decision that upheld a $22 million judgment that was awarded last year to former inmate Stephen R. Slevin.

That verdict was one of the largest federal civil rights settlements in history.


The county's board of commissioners said in a statement that it regrets the harm Slevin suffered while in custody between August 2005 and June 2007.

"Over the past seven years, Dona Ana County has made significant improvements to detention center staffing, training, facilities and procedures," the county said. "Dona Ana County is committed to ensuring consistent and appropriate treatment of every detainee in its care."

The county defended its operation of the jail following the initial $22 million judgment in January 2012. It argued that Slevin was offered a chance to join the general jail population, but declined and the only option was to place him in one of the jail's segregation cells.

The county had also said that Slevin's criminal history at the time of his arrest included out-of-state convictions for robberies, burglaries, drunken driving, receiving stolen property, firearms violations and, possession of drugs.
As part of the settlement, Slevin gave up the punitive damage award but did not give up any of his other compensation, Coyte said Tuesday. He called it a "long and hard fight."

"This settlement, although very large, does not give back to Mr. Slevin what was taken from him, but if it prevents others from enduring the pain and suffering he was subjected to, then the fight has been worthwhile," Coyte said. "I only hope they follow through on their promise to do better."

 

[Tuco]

Government institutions will always settle out of court with huge lump sums of money to avoid any legal repercussions. No one is going to give up $22 million to save the "greater good of the community" and bring the institutions to trial.

 

[Valkyrie]

Who cares what his past record was. So fucking typical.

 

[Watson]

he wont pour that through his liver lol

 

[IronAddict]

Drinking and driving is a bad thing, being paid 1.5 mill a month by the state of NM for DD, priceless!