ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A federal jury has awarded $22 million to a New Mexico man who spent two years in solitary confinement and says he was forced to pull his own tooth because jail officials wouldn't let him see a dentist.
Civil rights attorney Matt Coyte says a federal jury awarded Stephen Slevin the damages for his treatment while at the Dona Ana County Jail.
Slevin was arrested in August of 2005 for a DWI then put in jail, where his lawyer said he was forgotten for two years.
The 58-year-old man said he was denied repeated requests to see a doctor and forced to pull his own tooth.
The DWI charges against Slevin were later dropped.
The county declined to comment after the settlement.
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Information from: KOB-TV, http://www.kob.com
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