Man forgotten in Dona Ana Co. jail for two years awarded $22M
Posted at: 01/24/2012 10:36 PM
By: Marissa Torres, KOB Eyewitness News 4
 Stephen Slevin |
It is one of the largest prisoner civil rights settlements in the history of this country. On Tuesday, a federal jury awarded Stephen Slevin $22 million for inhumane treatment while in solitary confinement at the Dona Ana County Jail.
Slevin was arrested in August of 2005 for a DWI then tossed in jail and completely forgotten about for two years.
Slevin said he made countless requests to see a doctor and get medication for his depression, but that was denied until just a few weeks before he was released. He also said during the two years, he was forced to pull his own tooth because they would not let him see a dentist.
During his time in confinement, Slevin never saw a judge and was released when the DWI charges were dropped.
Slevin said taking Dona Ana County to court was never about money, it was to make sure this never happened to anyone else.
The county is not saying anything right now, but Slevin's lawyer said officials made several multimillion dollar to settle before the federal jury.
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