Follow the Money: Invisible Investors Seek Big Bucks in Mass Incarceration

Follow the Money: Invisible Investors Seek Big Bucks in Mass Incarceration

Wednesday, 08 April 2015 00:00
By James Kilgore and Brian Dolinar, Truthout | News Analysis


When authorities booked Richard Murphy into the jail in Monterey, California, on January 18, 2013, the war veteran likely never envisioned ending up being back in court months later, not to face criminal charges, but to expose the abuse he would suffer at the hands of the jail's private health-care provider.

His saga began when he complained to guards about his injured back. Before his arrest he managed the pain with prescribed medication and regular cortisone shots, neither of which he could get in jail. Despite his repeated pleas, it took several months to get even a cane. During this time, he could not get out of bed without serious pain, and his condition worsened.

In addition, Murphy had a severe mental illness. He received no attention from jail authorities even after claiming he heard demonic voices and felt suicidal. In a sick call note, he complained, "I'm a disabled vet who served my country with honorable discharge and should not be treated like trash over an officer's attitude."

On at least five occasions, the guards responded by putting him in a "rubber room," where he was stripped naked and dressed in a thin smock. There were feces on the wall and on the floor where he slept. One time he spent 38 hours in a rubber room without any food and only three drinks of water. .................(more)

http://truth-out.org/news/item/29809-follow-the-money-invisible-investors-seek-big-bucks-in-mass-incarceration