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| No ruling on Colo. solitary inmate pending review |
| By coshoctontribune.com - Rema Rahman, Associated Press |
| Published: 05/09/2012 |
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DENVER (WTW) — An inmate who has mental illness and has been held in solitary confinement for the last 12 years wants to once again "feel the sun against his skin," his lawyer told a federal court judge Tuesday. Troy Anderson has been held in solitary at the Colorado State Penitentiary since 2000 after being convicted of attempted murder and other offenses. His lawyers filed a lawsuit, arguing that his untreated mental illness has caused disruptions that led to him being held in isolation. Anderson was defended by a group of University of Denver law students who are allowed to act as lawyers for clients in federal court under a school program. Brenden Desmond said Anderson should get three days of outdoor recreation a week. He also asked the court for a plan to reassess Anderson's mental health treatment, saying that the medication prescribed the last six years for him wasn't working. He asked: "When is enough, enough?" The attorney for the state corrections department, Chris Alber, said Anderson has received more than adequate attention for his mental health problems and has admitted to being dangerous. Alber said an indoor recreation room Desmond uses is sufficient for providing fresh air and sunlight. "You don't think that's cruel and unusual?" Judge R. Brooke Jackson asked Alber about Anderson not having been outside in more than a decade. "I do not," Alber responded. "I don't think what he's been provided is really all that different." Following the arguments, Jackson decided to keep the case open until state prison officials wrap up a review of solitary confinement policies May 15. Jackson said he'll then give lawyers for both Anderson and the prison system 10 days to make additional written arguments based on the findings. Desmond, who is close to graduating from the law school, said the Colorado Department of Corrections has been delinquent in helping treat Anderson's attention deficit hyperactivity disorder by not prescribing adequate medication. Anderson hugged the students helping his case after his handcuffs were removed. Laura Rovner, founder of the civil rights program at the law school that advises students on representing inmates, said the recreation room at the prison has just one pull-up bar and that sunlight and fresh air come from a metal grate with holes in it. Read More. |
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