Student lawsuit alleges teacher victimization

Frankston, Victoria, Australia (June 29, 2008) - Courtney Davis, a 13-year-old student at Karingal Primary School, is suing the Victorian State Government, claiming she was discriminated against by two teachers at the school between March 2006 and July 2007. As reported by The Age, Ms Davis, who has severe epilepsy and suffers from seizures during the day that affect her short-term memory, alleges that amongst other things, one of the teacher's deliberately kicked balls at her and told her she was using her disability "as a crutch," that she was sent to reception at the school when she was ill and told to lie on the floor with a pillow rather than being placed in the sick bay, and that a sport's teacher told her she was "nothing but a slacker." From the article:

Courtney was allegedly victimised by two teachers — one who told her mother the girl was "using her disability as a crutch" and she "didn't have time for that rubbish".

This teacher also kicked a ball at Courtney's head three times in the presence of other students, it is claimed.

Her lawyers say that when Courtney did not come to school because of increased seizures, a sports teacher told her physical education class: "She never does sport. She is nothing but a slacker."

The full story is here.

Scam charges

From WCPO in Union Township, Cincinatti (June 29,2009) -

Two women are facing charges for allegedly using disabled children to defraud Union Township residents out of money earlier this month.

On Monday, Union Township police filed misdemeanor theft charges on Amie McRoberts, 37, and Catherine Nickell, 41.

Investigators say the women sent the girls door-to-door requesting donations so the children could attend a special needs camp. Police say both girls suffer from learning disabilities and the money was never going to a special needs organization, it was going to pay their parents' bills.

Amandaw is guest blogging at Feministe

Here is a link to her first post. And this is a link to her personal blog, Three River's Fog. An excerpt from her first post:

I’ve been around the blogosphere for several years now, commenting under this name (case varied). I started my blog… to have a space to externalize and process my own thoughts on any number of issues, including my experience as a low-class kid being raised by a mentally ill single mother, in an agricultural area in central California where Latin@s actually outnumber whites, and struggling to come to terms with my increasingly-unavoidable disability as I grew older. Issues covered include feminism, disability, health care, class and race, and conventional white-male-higher-class “politics”…

Inmate lawsuit claims sexual assault and coverup

Tulsa, Oklahoma (June 26, 2009) - Four female former inmates of Delaware County jail have filed a lawsuit claiming they were sexually assaulted by jailers and a reserve jail officer. In this report by the Oklahoman, one of the four women is described as “mentally disabled.” The inmates’ allegations include rape, sexual molestation and other forms of sexual assault, death threats, and claims that initial complaints were covered up by Delaware County Sheriff Jay Blackfox rather than properly investigated. According to The Oklahoman:

The lawsuit states Blackfox rehired [jailor] Sanders despite prior sexual misconduct with female inmates and that the sheriff ignored complaints by female inmates. Blackfox denied the allegations.

The story in full is here.

Assault and attempted robbery charges

Bridgeport, Connecticut (June 27, 2009) - Acccording to the Connecticut Post, 19-year-old Roosevelt Webster was arrested and charged on Friday with beating and trying to rob a 24-year-old developmentally disabled man. His charges include attempted first-degree robbery, assault on a "mentally retarded person" and reckless endangerment. From the article:

The 24-year-old victim was walking along Iranistan Avenue on Friday morning, police said, when he was confronted by four men wearing hooded sweat shirts. One of the men, identified as Webster, fired a gunshot in the direction of thevictim and the four men began beating the victim until officers arrived.

Police said the assailants scattered on arrival of officers and Webster was arrested after a short foot chase. Officers found several cartridges in his pocket and a handgun was found stuck in a fence along the path where he was running, police said.

Roosevelt Webster is being held on $40,000 bond. The man he assaulted and attempted to rob was taken to Bridgeport Hospital, where he was treated for head and face lacerations.

Friday round-up

From the AAP, Australia (July 25, 2009) - The mother of a 7-year-old autistic girl who died of starvation on November 3, 2007, has been found guilty of her murder by a NSW Supreme Court jury. The same jury found the child's father guilty of manslaughter after a week of deliberations. The girl weighed just 9kg at the time of her death and had the bone development of a five-year-old.

From the Journal News, White Plains, New York (June 24, 2009) - In an opinion-editorial, Esther Gueft says people with disabilities constitute one of the nation’s largest minority groups, yet their needs are consistently overlooked.

From The Independent in the United Kingdom (June 23, 2009) - Cari Loder, a multiple scleroris sufferer who pioneered a treatment for the disease, has committed suicide in her home near Godalming, Surrey, using a "helium based suicide kit." In the days before her death, Ms Loder, aged 48, researched ways to kill herself as her health rapidly deteriorated, leaving her permanently housebound and unable to travel to a euthanasia clinic abroad.

From the Associated Press and the News & Observer in Raleigh, North Carolina (June 23, 2009) - North Carolina unveiled a roadside marker yesterday representing the state’s decades-long eugenics program, which was intended to keep thousands of people considered mentally disabled or otherwise genetically inferior from having children.

From the Contra Costa Times in Contra Costa, California (June 23, 2009) - Columnist Kate Scannell says Governor Schwarzenegger’s plan to cut services to people with disabilities will only create bigger and more costly problems.

From the Wall Street Journal and the Associated Press (June 22, 2009) - In a 6-3 ruling decision, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a family who argued that their child’s special education costs should be paid by their local school district even though he had not first received special education services in public school.

From ProPublica/St. Louis Post-Dispatch (June 22, 2009) - Ten years after the Supreme Court handed down a landmark ruling intended to help people with disabilities move out of institutions, hundreds of thousands of people who want to leave institutions to live on their own are still waiting to be released from nursing homes, rehab centers and state hospitals.

Discrimination lawsuit claims KMART fired a greeter because he used a cane

From an EEOC press release (June 24, 2009) (h/t Wheelie Catholic)

KMART SUED FOR DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION FOR FIRING GREETER WHO USED CANE

Retail Giant Punished Worker for Back Impairment, EEOC Charges

NORFOLK, Va. – National retail giant Kmart Corporation violated federal law by firing an employee because of his disability, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed yesterday under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) on behalf of a former worker who uses an assistive walking device.

The EEOC’s suit, filed in he U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Kmart Corporation, Civil Action No. 2:09CV291), asserted that around September 2004 Alonzo McGlone was hired as a greeter at a Kmart Super Center in Norfolk, Va. McGlone, who has a debilitating back impairment, uses a cane to assist him in walking and standing. The EEOC’s suit charged that McGlone was successfully performing his duties as a greeter when he was observed using his cane. According to the EEOC, McGlone was fired because of the use of his cane.

The EEOC filed suit after first attempting to reach a voluntary settlement out of court. The EEOC's lawsuit seeks reinstatement of McGlone into his former position or an equivalent one, as well as back pay, compensatory damages, and punitive damages. The EEOC also seeks an injunction ordering Kmart to institute and carry out policies, practices, and training programs which provide equal employment opportunities for persons with disabilities, and a work environment free from disability discrimination.

“Mr. McGlone lost his job because he needed to use an assistive device to walk,” said Herbert Brown, director of the EEOC’s Norfolk Local Office. “It is unfortunate that many employers still deny people who are ready and able the opportunity to work simply because of a disability. The EEOC will continue to fight for the rights of people victimized by such prejudices.”

During Fiscal Year 2008, disability discrimination charge filings with the EEOC nationwide rose to 19,453 -- an increase of 10 percent from the prior fiscal year and the highest level in 14 years.

Lynette A. Barnes, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Charlotte District Office, which includes the Norfolk Local Office, added, “This lawsuit is a reminder that, although we have made great strides in educating employers and the public about disability
discrimination, some employers still judge applicants and employees based on a disability rather than on their proven ability to do a job.”

According to its web site, www.kmart.com, Kmart is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sears Holdings Corporation. As of January 31, 2009, Holdings operated a total of 1,368 Kmart stores across 49 states, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about the EEOC is available on its web site at www.eeoc.gov.

Recent sex crime reports

Muskegon, Michegan (June 23, 2009) - The Muskegon Chronicle reports that 54 year-old Willie James Ferguson has been charged with sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl with developmental disabilities. According to the article, Ferguson, who was an acquaintance of the family, was charged as "a fourth-time habitual offender." A preliminary examination is set for July 2 and bond was set at $500,000 cash or surety.

Gatesville, Texas (June 22, 2009) - KXXV News reports that 22 year-old Christopher Lace Mobley was arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a developmentally disabled man. He is charged with four counts of aggravated sexual assault and is being held on $300,000 bond.

Appleton, Wisconsin (June 20, 2009) - The Post Crescent reports that 51 year-old Eliseo Corona Vargas was found guilty of multiple charges arising from the rape on June 7, 2008, of a disabled woman who called police with her medical alert necklace. Vargas was found guilty of second-degree sexual assault, burglary and bail jumping and is scheduled for sentencing on August 6. According to the report, broke into the woman's New London apartment early in the morning while she was sleeping and assaulted her. The two were not acquainted.

Lombard, Illinois (June 19, 2009) - The Daily Herald reports that Shreya Lal, 20, has been arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting on June 15 a 20 year-old girl with developmental disabilities. According to the report, the assault occurred in the home of Lombard's parents after he convinced the girl to meet him there. Lal, it is reported, took the girl's cellular phone and threatened to hurt her if she went to plice. Lal is charged with aggravated criminal sexual assault, criminal sexual assault, intimidation, unlawful interference with the reporting of domestic violence. He was also charged with unlawful violation of an order of protection barring him from having contact with her.

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (June 17, 2009) - The Ottawa Citizen reports that two male social workers have been charged with "verbally, mentally and physically" assaulting three developmentally disabled adults at a Rockland home run by Prescott-Russell Services to Children and Adults. According to Ontario Provincial Police, the alleged assault of three adult residents of the home were reported to the OPP by the director of services of PRSCA on May 7.
Patrick Labreche, 24, was charged with three counts of assault, mischief under $5,000 and sexual exploitation, and Dominic Laviolette, 35, was charged with four counts of assault and sexual exploitation. They are expected to appear in court on June 24.

Bainbridge, Washington (June 15, 2009) - According to the Seattle Times, a 62-year-old Bainbridge High School teacher's aide is being held in jail on $500,000 bail, accused of sexually touching a developmentally disabled 17-year-old girl at a community pool. According to a schoold district spokeswoman, the man has been a para-educator, or teacher's aide, in special education classes at the high school for approximately six years.

West Jordan, Utah (June 11, 2009) - According to the Salt Lake Tribune, 56 year-old Scott Olsen has been ordered to stand trial for allegedly tying a developmentally disabled 14-year-old girl to a bed and sexually assaulting her. Olsen, who lived in the same apartment building as the girl, is charged with first-degree felony aggravated kidnapping, four counts of second-degree felony forcible sexual abuse and lewdness, a class B misdemeanor. According to the article, prosecutors said the crimes all occurred on one day during the last school year, when the girl was in ninth grade. Olsen is being held in jail in lieu of $200,000 and is scheduled to appear in court on June 25.

Sand Lake, New York (June 10, 2009) - According to the Troy Record, 57 year-old Hendrick Werkman, a former employee at the Center for Disability Services, has been charged with performing a criminal sexual act upon a developmentally disabled adult female. According to the report, the alleged incident took place on June 6, 2009. Werkman has been fired from his center job in light of the criminal charges.

Ontario man dies after being shot by police

Elmvale, Ontario, Canada (June 23, 2009) - According to numerous news reports, Doug Minty, an Ontario man who is described as being in his 50s and developmentally disabled, died shortly after being shot outside his home by an Ontario Provincial Police officer on Monday night. According to the Barrie Examiner, Mr Minty was shot during an "altercation" with a police officer who had been called to his home in response to a report about an argument between a door-to-door salesman and Mr Minty. From the article:

Police were called to 21 Lawson Ave. shortly after 8 p. m. in response to an altercation between a door-to-door salesman and a resident of the home.

Upon arrival at the scene, OPP say one of the men became involved in a direct altercation with police. As a result, an officer discharged his service pistol.

The man was taken to Royal Victoria Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The officer involved was not injured.

Neighbours say the resident shot was Doug Minty, a "very nice, well-liked" man who lived alone with his mother, Evelyn Minty, in the single storey house.

According to the report, Mr Minty's death is being investigated by The Special Investigations Unit. A post-mortem examination is planned for today (Wednesday).

The story in full is here.

Police officer indicted in death of Otto Zehm

Spokane, Washington, June 22, 2009 - According to the Associated Press, a federal grand jury has indicted Officer Karl Thompson for striking and tasering 36-year-old Otto Zehm during a confrontation with police in a convenience store on March 18, 2006. Mr Zehm, who was developmentally disabled, never regained consciousness, and died two days after the incident. His death was ruled a homicide. From the article:

The indictment contends Officer Karl Thompson deprived Otto Zehm of his civil rights and made a false statement to investigators. He was accused of repeatedly striking Zehm with a baton and Tasering him in a convenience store.

City officials have said Zehm refused police orders to drop a two-liter bottle of soda he was holding, and fought with officers.

U.S. Attorney James McDevitt said Thompson will likely be the only officer indicted.

To read a Wikipedia article about the incident and the subsequent death of Otto Zehm, see here.

For more detailed coverage of the indictment of Karl Thompson, see this article by KXLY.

Two cases of caregiver abuse and one of theft in Baltimore, MD

From AP/WBOC News:

BALTIMORE (AP) - Two former caregivers at group homes for developmentally disabled adults have been charged with abuse. Thirty-nine-year-old Mary Arung of Laurel, who worked at a home in Washington, is accused of assaulting a disabled woman in November as she was being taken to a doctor's appointment in Lanham.

In a separate case, 55-year-old Aboyomi Ogundeyi was charged with assaulting a disabled man at a group home in Baltimore County.

The cases were investigated by the Maryland attorney general's Medicaid Fraud unit, which announced the charges Friday. In a third case, another former caregiver, 26-year-old Kera Pamela Heath of Baltimore, was charged with theft and forgery.

She is accused of stealing a check made out to an assisted living resident in her care.

Sexual assault lawsuit alleges inadequate supervision of residents


Austin, Texas - An Austin woman who alleges her 42-year-old daughter was sexually assaulted last year by a resident at the Willow River Farms home for adults with intellectual disabilities has sued the facility and its director for failing to properly supervise residents. According to the Statesman (June 19, 2009):

A lawsuit filed in district court in Harris County accuses Willow River Farms and its director of failing to properly supervise residents and seeks unspecified damages. Gloria Culpepper, whose 42-year-old daughter no longer lives at the facility, says her daughter was assaulted by a fellow resident.

According to the report, The Center Serving Persons with Mental Retardation, a Houston nonprofit that runs Willow River Farms, is also a defendant in the suit.

Caregiver carelessness

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada - Two employees of the St. Amant community home for people with developmental disabilities have been fired for leaving two female residents inside a van while they went to watch a movie. As reported by the Winnipeg Sun (June 19, 2009):

The incident occurred May 18 at the Cinema City theatres on McGillivray Boulevard, where the two women -- both young adult residents of a St. Amant community residence on Edelweiss Crescent -- were left sitting in a van in the parking lot as the employees charged with their care went to check out a flick.

"It violates every conceivable policy, common sense, and we believe, the law. We're taking this very, very seriously," said Carl Stephens, president and CEO of St. Amant.

"There was fortunately no harm to the young women but there was certainly potential for harm. Both have very significant intellectual disabilities."

The incident was discovered when police officers patrolling the area noticed the women sitting in the van and waited with them until the staff members exited the theatre.

According to the the article, the the Winnipeg police vulnerable persons unit is investigating the case to see whether the employees' actions were against the law, although a police spokesman could not confirm that late yesterday.

St. Amant has more than 500 employees in its community residential program, and about 1,400 overall.

The full article is here.

Prison sentence for neglect death

The Democrat and Chronicle in Rochester, New York, reports the sentencing of Amber Zuke to 2 1/3 years in prison after being found guilty last month of causing the death of her 6-year-old son Jacob by neglecting his nutritional and medical needs. Her husband, Timothy Zuke, whom the judge felt was less responsible for Jacob's death than Ms Zuke, took a plea deal and will serve one to three years in prsion. Jacob, who had cerebral palsy, weighed only 25 pounds when police found him dead in the family apartment on January 1, 2008.

The full story is here.

Friday round-up

From the Peoria Journal-Star in Peoria, Illinois (June 18, 2009) - The father of a severely autistic man has sued the city and three police officers for tasing his son 12 times when they arrested him last December after a disturbance at a Parc group home.

From the Associated Press (June 17, 2009) - The American Medical Association has taken action to support a doctor's ability to discuss obesity with an overweight patient. Under a new policy adopted Tuesday, the AMA formally opposes efforts by advocacy groups to define obesity as a disability. Doctors fear using that definition makes them vulnerable under disability laws to lawsuits from obese patients who don't want their doctors to discuss their weight.

From the Daily News in Queens, New York (June 17, 20090 - The mishandling of greencard applications for the family of a teen girl with disabilities may cause the family to separate. Following a paperwork snafu, 15-year-old Hayoung Lee, her mother and her sister face deportation to South Korea, leaving her father and 5-year-old brother alone in the US. The family faced its first hearing Monday in immigration court. The next step is a legal conference at the end of next month.

From KABC-TV in Los Angeles, California (June 16, 2009) - An investigation by ABC7 News of the LA County Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) and its treatment of bus passengers with disabilities has uncovered has widespread disregard for disabled riders. "Undercover video showed broken equipment and drivers who say they're untrained - or too busy - to help wheelchair riders get secured on the bus as required by federal law."

From AP/KPAX in Helena, Montana (June 16, 2009) - A Missoula woman, who was unable to find a physician willing to prescribe drugs that would hasten her death, has died of ovarian cancer. Janet Murdock died Sunday at age 67. Her death was announced Tuesday by the Denver-based patients' rights group Compassion & Choices. The group was a plaintiff in a lawsuit that led to a judge's ruling that physician-assisted suicide is a right protected under the Montana Constitution.

From Chicago Town Daily News, Chicago, Illinois (June 16, 2009) - A Chicago Public Schools principal yesterday accused district officials of routinely denying disabled students access to specialized help, and at times, of barring them from evaluation for learning disabilities. Mary Ann Pollett, principal of Moses Montefiore Special Elementary School, testified before the City Council's Committee on Education and Child Development that officials have discouraged teachers at her school from reporting students' disabilities because it is too expensive to deal with them.

From the Los Angeles Times (June 16, 2009) - Marcella M. Meyer, a prominent deaf advocate who helped found the Greater Los Angeles Agency on Deafness and ran it for almost three decades, has died. She was 84. Ms Meyer, who was deaf since contracting scarlet fever at the age of 6, fought to expand civil rights and establish social services for people with impaired hearing. She pushed for TV closed-captioning in the 1970s, and was instrumental in opening up jury service in Los Angeles County to the deaf and hard of hearing in 1981. (h/t Patricia E Bauer)

From the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star-Tribune in Minneapolis, Minnesota (June 15, 2009) -
Ariel Wade, who uses an electric mobility scooter to get around, is charging a White Castle restaurant with discrimination after she was turned away when she attempted to use the drive-through window. The Minnesota Disability Law Center is weighing whether to take her case. The restaurant chain says it limits the drive-in window to licensed motor vehicles in the interest of customer safety.

From the News Tribune, Benton County, Washington (June 14, 2009) - A deaf man who was jailed in Benton County in late 2005 and early 2006 is suing the county for allegedly failing to accommodate his needs under provisions of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. William 30-year-old Michael Kral says the county did not provide an interpreter during several court hearings, and that corrections officers refused to allow him to use a phone designed for deaf people and cut his calls short when he did use the teletypewriter, or TTY phone. The lawsuit also alleges that jail personnel wouldn't turn on the jail television's caption for the man.

Teen beaten by two men in Seattle

Seattle, Washington (June 17, 2009) - Police are investigating the assault by two white men on June 1 of 19-year-old Hannah Geiger. Hannah Geiger, who has a seizure disorder and is a silver medallist in the Special Olympics, was viciously beaten and knocked unconscious by two men in their 20s near the Magnolia Community Center around 3:30 p.m. on June 1. According to KATU.com, the men were muttering "racial slurs"during the attack, which police are calling a hate crime. As reported in the Seattle Times:

On June 1, the Haitian-born 19-year-old started out on her three-block walk from her home to one of her favorite palaces, Magnolia Community Center, when she was stopped by two white men who accosted her because of her race and disability before beating her unconscious. No arrests have been made.

"After we got back home, she told me what happened and her face was pretty red. She showed me her bruises and told the story," said her mother, Ruthann Geiger.

On Wednesday evening, a crowd of about 300 supporters and friends gathered at a community barbecue thrown in Hannah's honor in Magnolia.

For the first time since she was thrust into the local spotlight after surviving what police say was a violent hate crime, Geiger's game face cracked into an embarrassed, but resolute, smile.

Hannah, who has won 16 medals at the Special Olympics, is described by those who know her as a "leader and a natural born helper." In the words of Wayne Grytting, Hannah's teacher for four years at West Seattle High School, "She has been a teacher to all of us about how to care for each other."

The story in full is here and here.

Netherlands special needs swimming teacher arrested on suspicion of large scale sexual abuse

Amsterdam, The Netherlands (June 17, 2009) - According to Earth Times, 59-year-old Benno Larue, a Dutch special-needs swimming teacher, has been arrested on suspicion of sexually abusing at least 98 girls with intellectual disabilities and other special needs. He was arrested on June 8 after police confiscated tens of thousands of pornographic photographs and video footage of "hundreds of girls" aged 6 to 16. From the article:

"We have confiscated tens of thousands of pornographic pictures and video footage of hundreds of girls," a spokesman of the police in Den Bosch in the southern Netherlands told the German Press Agency dpa.

"The pictures show the swimming teacher performing sexual acts on at least 98 girls, aged 6 to 16," he added.

Given the obvious difficulties in interviewing the special-needs children, due to their disabilities, estimates of the number of potential victims have ranged to possibly over 1,000.

Two girls have so far been identified. Police said that so far it appears all girls had been the victims of assault, not rape.

Larue taught in several swimming pools in Den Bosch and three nearby towns and villages.

According to the report, Larue had been under police investigation five years ago on suspicion of sexual abuse but a police investigation did not lead anywhere. More than 100 police detectives are now working on what "appears to be the largest sexual abuse case in the Netherlands in decades." Larue remains in police custody pending the investigation.

The full article is here.

Justin Hamilton torture case: an update

Minneapolis-St Paul, Minnesota (June 15, 2009) - Further to my post on April 16, the Star Tribune reports that John Maniglia, 21, was sentenced to eight years in prison on Monday for his role in the kidnapping, assault and torture of Justin Hamilton (pictured) in October last year. From the article:

John Maniglia, 21, had pleaded guilty in April to one county each of kidnapping, third-degree assault and theft as his trial was about to begin. Seven other charges against him were dropped. The eight-year prison term, handed down by Judge Tim Wermager, is twice the recommended sentence.

"We are pleased that this defendant has been held responsible for his actions in this violent kidnapping and assault," County Attorney Jim Backstrom said in a press release issued today.

Backstrom has said the longer sentence was necessary because of the cruelty of Maniglia's crimes.

As reported earlier by FRIDA, Mr Hamilton was kidnapped on two successive days and kicked and beaten more than 100 times, tied to a tree and burned repeatedly with a lighter. In November, 2008, Maniglia's 16-year-old girlfriend, Natasha Dahn, who provoked the beating by lying to Maniglia and others, claiming that Hamilton had hit her, pleaded guilty to four felonies in exchange for extended juvenile jurisdiction. Another man, Johnathon Diepold, age 22, is scheduled for jury trial on July 27 for various charges in connection with the attack, including kidnapping, theft, third degree assault and false imprisonment. Two other men, Glen Ries, 34, and Timothy Ketterling, 22, have pretrial conferences scheduled for June 22.

For earlier reports, see here and here, and also here, here and here.

Settlement agreement in case involving treatment of disabled man in prison

Port Orchard, Washington (June 15, 2009) - According to the Seattle Times, Kitscap County has agreed to pay $4.7 million dollars to a man with developmental disabilities for his treatment during his stay in the Kitsap County Jail. According to the article, before he entered jail, William Trask was healthy and led an active life. But when he left prison he was severely dehydrated with gangrene and failing organs. From the article:

William Trask's relatives say he suffered brain damage after refusing to eat or drink in the jail. His lawyer Tim Rolland Tesh of Seattle says Trask became disoriented in jail and was not taken to Harrison Medical Center for 21 days.

Trask's family told KING5-TV that the man suffered from a developmental disability before he entered the jail, but was healthy and active. Relatives say he left jail with dehydration and organ failure.

In a statement released to the press, Sheriff Steve Boyer said that "Mr Trask's situation is very serious, however it is an aberration."

"The Kitsap County Jail is an excellent facility with professional staff. The experts cannot specifically identify the cause of his physical deterioration. However we are pleased that, through this settlement, Mr. Trask's present and future care and health needs will be met."

To read the story in full, see here and here.

Wednesday blog-about

Recommended reading:

Cara (Feministe, The Curvature) - U.S Polling Locations Remain Inaccessible

William Peace (Bad Cripple) - White Castle Miss the Point

Renee (Womanist Musings) - Using Lame As A Descriptor Is Always Ableist