According to NBC News:
Slevin's story of inhumane treatment in the Dona Ana County Jail, where he was incarcerated from 2005 to 2007 — which he said included his toenails growing so long that they curled around his foot, and fungus festering on his skin because he was deprived of showers — first received publicity last January, when he was awarded the $22 million.
Dona Ana County had been appealing the verdict ever since, refusing to pay Slevin.
But the legal battle ended Tuesday with the $15.5 million settlement, a number decided on in court mediation, according to Jess Williams, Dona Ana County's public information director.
Slevin's mistreatment by Dona Ana County started the moment he was arrested back in August of 2005, his attorney told NBC News.
“He was driving through New Mexico and arrested for a DWI, and he allegedly was in a stolen vehicle. Well, it was a car he had borrowed from a friend; a friend had given him a car to drive across the country,” Coyte said in an interview last January.
Slevin was depressed at the time, Coyte explained, and wanted to get out of New Mexico. Instead, he found himself in jail.
“When he gets put in the jail, they think he's suicidal, and they put him in a padded cell for three days, but never give him any treatment.”
Nor did they give him a trial, Coyte said. Slevin said he never saw a judge during his time in confinement.
After three days in the padded cell, jail guards transferred Slevin into solitary confinement with no explanation.
This sounds miserable, NO DOUBT ABOUT THAT, but so does the thought of not being retired in two years. My question is, would you drop everything right now and go into solitary confinement for 22 months to come out with arguably enough money to live from your 20s till death (provided you're not a next-level baller who thinks new cars are investments)? I say, where the fuck do I sign up? Send me the application and release form. I can start today. Come out in 22 months with $15 million waiting for me and with 4% body fat, which will probably make me another $5 mil being the #9 male model in the world (they rank those sorts of things, you guys). When I think about it, I'm young and healthy, and while I won't be so healthy or hygienic when I come out on the other side, I will be infinitely better off financially than if I keep finger banging this keyboard for the next two years. Although it did take six brutally long years for this case to finally reach a settlement…
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