Saturday, September 20, 2003

Another example of the "traditional values" of the state that loves Judge Roy Moore and thinks huge timber companies should pay lower property taxes than people who clean toilets:

ALABAMA: SETTLEMENT FOR INMATE'S DEATH The two teenage daughters of a mentally ill Mobile County jail inmate who died from an infection he got through wounds from his shackles will receive about $350,000 each in settlements from the county. The death of the inmate, James Carpenter, from flesh-eating bacteria in 2000 prompted a federal investigation. Mr. Carpenter, who was being held on misdemeanor charges, was found dead in his cell two weeks after his arrest, handcuffed and naked, with ulcers on his wrists and ankles from restraints. Though jail personnel were aware he was mentally ill, he was never treated for the condition, a lawyer for the family said.

--New York Times

The unrecognized mental illness, the shackling (and imprisoning for two weeks) of a guy who's up on misdemeanor charges, the failure to acknowledge the infection, the nakedness -- in how many ways is this appalling?

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