Stephen Slevin: Man Locked In Solitary Confinement For Two Years Wins $22m Payout
Posted by Ram Kumar Shrestha on January 28, 2012
A man who was locked in solitary confinement for two years without a trial, has been awarded a $22m payout.
Stephen Slevin, 58, from New Mexico, won the mammoth compensation package for violation of his constitutional rights.
Slevin was arrested in August 2005.
According to Sky News, he was charged withpossession of a stolen vehicle, aggravated driving while under the influence, driving with a suspended licence, possession of an open container of alcohol in a vehicle and improper use of registration.
He was imprisoned in a small padded cell in Dona Ana County, where he remained until May 2007, never once seeing a judge.
Earlier this week, a Santa Fe federal court handed Slevin one of the largest settlements in federal civil rights history.
Speaking to NBC-DFW, Slevin said prison officials were “walking by me every day, watching me deteriorate. Day after day after day, they did nothing, nothing at all, to get me any help.”
After nearly two years, the charges against Slevin were dropped and he was finally released.
During his incarceration, the victim claims to have pulled out his own tooth due to lack of access to a dentist. He is currently on anti-depressants. The reason why Slevin was detained for so long without trial remains unclear.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost
