Mental patient held in solitary for 20 years

Don't think this can't happen to you. It can.

It's been revealed that at Western State Hospital in Staunton, Virginia, a man has been held in solitary confinement for 20 years - in violation of state law and surely against court rulings.

The man, now in his 50s, was reportedly held 24/7. This despite the fact that courts have ruled that even convicted criminals can't be held in solitary more than 23 hours a day. (There's no indication that the man in this story had been convicted of a crime.)

Even right-wing terrorist Eric Rudolph is allowed out of solitary for swimming 90 minutes a day (which Rudolph complained isn't enough). But the man held at Virginia's mental "hospital" was given no such amenities.

The Virginia mental patient received his food through a tiny slot in the door. After having his teeth pulled because of dental problems, he was not given dentures, because the guards claimed he'd use them as a weapon. (He was in solitary, so who could he possibly attack?) Furthermore, he speaks only Spanish, and the "hospital" refused to provide him with doctors or therapists who were fluent in his language.

The only break from this confinement was when he was allowed to briefly leave the institution with his family. The institution expressed no fear that he posed a danger to anyone during these outings, so what's the institution's excuse for keeping him locked away the rest of the time?

Courts have also ruled that people held in mental "hospitals" are entitled to actual treatment - not warehousing. But if you lock someone in solitary for 20 years, I wouldn't call that treatment.

This tragedy is nothing new in Virginia. Ten years ago, federal investigators probed the state's institutions over illegal use of seclusion and restraints (torture devices).

Records show there was no effort to place the man back in his community, even though this is supposed to be a goal of the state's mental health system.

This man's life is probably destroyed forever. He may have been perfectly sane when he was first locked up. (Most people who are institutionalized are.) But I can't imagine anyone recovering from 20 years of a lack of human contact.

This could just as easily be you. You can bet your bottom dollar there are other people in America's psychiatric facilities who have been held in solitary for just as long. If you think it can't happen to you, you could be in for a rude awakening one of these days. I never in a million years would've thought I'd have the struggle I had in 1990 just for getting expelled from a Catholic high school, but here we are.

There's a whole system in place to punish folks in a manner contrary to the law. Be forewarned, because BushAmerica is on par with the old Soviet Union with using psychiatric wards to lock up dissidents.

(Source: http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2008-06-06-0184.html)