#5 Georgia Teenagers
In Douglas County, Georgia two teenage boys were forgotten in a holding cell for three days without food or water. On a Friday, the teenagers had been moved from a youth detention center to the courthouse holding cells. Possibly due to miscommunication, no one checked in on them, and they were left unintended to for the whole weekend. During this time their only access to water was the toilet, which wasn’t even accompanied with any toilet paper. They also had no food or proper bed to sleep on.
The following Monday they were found in their holding cells, and both were reported as being okay – other than being hungry. The town’s sheriff said that the incident should have never happened as the cells were supposed to be routinely checked. He took responsibility for the incident and said it would never happen again.
#4 Farad Polk
Being forgotten in a cold dark cell seems terrifying, but you can guarantee it would never happen to you if you don’t commit any crimes, right?
Chicago man, Farad Polk was visiting his son at a corrections center when he found himself to be the prisoner. He was instructed to a meeting room where he believed would see his son, but after five minutes alone in the small eight-by-eight room he realized that his son wasn’t showing up and neither were the officers.
He went to sound the buzzer for help only to find that the meeting room didn’t have any buzzers, or cameras, or any way to connect with the outside. He was also deprived of food, water, and the bathroom – he ended up relieving himself on the concrete floor, the same concrete floor where he’d sleep that night.
The next day he kicked against the steel door and shouted, but still no one noticed him. It was only after he broke open a panel on the ceiling and activated the sprinklers that he got the workers’ attention. After 32 hours, he was freed. Polk went on to sue the county for his emotional trauma.
#3 Adriana Torres-Flores
Adrianna Torres-Flores, a woman arrested for selling pirated DVDs, was put in a holding cell that was only nine-by-ten feet – only meant for holding occupants for a couple of hours. Here she would spend the next four days. Without any supervision or access to food, water, a bed or a bathroom, she made it through the nights by using her shoe as a pillow. She survived only by drinking her own urine.
After four days, she was found lying on the floor. Still alive, she was rushed to the hospital.
The whole incident was caused due to negligence on the part of the administrative staff. The lead security officer was on vacation that week. Torres-Flores was left in the cell on Thursday and due to harsh weather conditions few workers even showed up on Friday. As the cells were supposed to be emptied by the weekend no one even bothered to check until Monday when she was found.
She was able to make a full recovery from the incident.
#2 Daniel Chong
College student Daniel Chong was partying at a friend’s house when DEA agents stormed the residence. The raid turned up drugs, guns, and ammunition, and Chong was initially suspected of being part of the illegal activity. After an interrogation, however, police found Chong to be innocent and promised him a ride home.
Minutes and eventually hours passed without Chong’s ride, or for that matter, anyone arriving. He began yelling and banging on the cell walls, but no one came to his aid. Assuming the jailhouse closed down for the night, Chong slept on the cell floor.
The next day he continued in his attempts to get noticed. He could hear the staff walking around the facility, but apparently no one heard him. He even tried to activate the sprinklers but to no avail.
Days and nights passed as Chong deteriorated both mentally and physically in the cell. Without food or water, Chong resorted to drinking his own urine to survive, but even this would only delay the inevitable. Believing he had been forgotten and becoming delusional, Chong used a fragment of glass from his glasses to etch into his arm a goodbye message to his mother. It read, “Sorry Mom.”
After five days Chong was found in his holding cell. He was still alive. The staff rushed Chong to the hospital. It was found that not only had he lost fifteen pounds but also that he suffered from kidney failure. Chong survived the ordeal and received a settlement of $4.1 million for the trouble but still suffers with PTSD. It’s still unclear as to what caused the incident.
#1 Stephen Slevin
Stephen Slevin, a man in his fifties, was arrested in 2005 for driving under the influence of alcohol, but he never had a trial.
Incapable of making bond and being judged as suicidal, he was thrown into solitary confinement. While he wasn’t forgotten in the physical sense as he was given basic necessities such as food and water, he was forgotten by the legal system. For the next 22 months Slevin would remain in solitary confinement without even having a trial.
For almost two years he was completely isolated from the outside world – no sunlight and no human contact. The guards did nothing to help him despite his cries but instead watched him deteriorate.
He tried to communicate with the jail nurse through notes which read, “I have no slept in days” and “I’m in a deep depression.” In response, he was regularly drugged.
Slevin decayed physically and mentally. Prior to the arrest Slevin was suffering with a depression which only intensified and led to delusions. Along with his hair and beard growing out, his toenails eventually had grown to curl beneath his toes; he lost weight; contracted fungal infections; and his dental hygiene had become so poor that he removed one his teeth on his own.
After nearly two years, relatives of Slevin from across the country began asking about his whereabouts. Soon after, charges against Slevin were dropped, and he was released.
Upon release, Slevin demanded an explanation and compensation. There were some clues as to the cause for the neglect. The medical director at the facility had apparently administered sedatives to Slevin without ever visiting him; the nurse had no credentials in the medical field; and according to Slevin’s lawyer the jailhouse had a history of negligence due to corruption.
The court eventually settled on a $15.5 million dollar award. While it’s not surprising that county officials were upset by the settlement, Slevin, now a multi-millionaire was also not happy with the whole ordeal as he still suffers with depression and PTSD from the 22 month stint and was put on medication to combat his illnesses. There is no information on whether or not any of the Doña Ana County Officials were charged for Slevin’s mistreatment.
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