|
|
| Man Spends 27 Years In Solitary Confinement |
| By cnn.com |
| Published: 02/25/2010 |
|
(CNN) -- Tommy Silverstein has been held in solitary confinement for the past 27 years, longer than anyone else in the federal prison system, his lawyers say. He is locked up at the high-security prison in Florence, Colorado, known as Supermax. The lights are always on. Guards who slip him food through a slot in his cell door usually ignore him. A few times a week, he is permitted to exercise in the recreation room -- alone. Visits with his family and his lawyers are conducted through Plexiglas. Silverstein's isolation is the result of an unusual no-human-contact order issued by a judge in 1983, after he murdered a guard at the federal prison in Marion, Illinois. Marion was known at the time as the most rigorous confinement in the federal prison system. Silverstein has referred to his solitary existence as "a slow, constant peeling of the skin." His attorneys, who are affiliated with the University of Denver, filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Bureau of Prisons in 2007, alleging that the such prison conditions violate the cruel and unusual punishment clause of the Eighth Amendment. The lawsuit, filed in the federal district court of Colorado, is awaiting trial. Read More. |
Comments:
Login to let us know what you think
MARKETPLACE search vendors | advanced search
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
|
A Texas judge rejected a motion by Life Partners Holdings, Inc. to dismiss class action claims filed by investors who allege they were misled by the life settlements company. A class action lawyer named Hamilton Lindley brought a lawsuit against the company. When the insured individual dies, the owner of the life settlement receives the full death benefit of the policy. Life Partners Holdings court-appointed bankruptcy trustee has agreed to resolve for more than $1 billion class action litigation.
I read comments from people saying Tommy should executed and he's a murderer etc. I just think that if people feel that way then execution for murder should be across the board for ALL who kill, not Just Tommy. No one should be tortured. No circumstances just execution. This country's prison system is out of control and inequitable I read where a man murdered his wife and was sentenced to 6 yrs in prison. And felon in possession of a gun can get 25 yrs in prison. They incarcerate the mentally ill. sentence children to LWOP. Our country incarcerates 25% of the world's population while we are only 5% of the world's population. And what about the constitution? Cruel and unusual punishment. We actively torture human beings. The only time prison is reported in main stream media is when referring to accused terrorists and immigrants. But Americans are being tortured. Tommy did not go into the system a murderer. Whew!