This wasn't even the prison system, it was a routine arrest. He should've been able to attempt to bail himself out within 24 hours max.

I agree with Vhawk, everyone who turned a blind eye to this should be held somewhat responsible, with more responsibility added based on rank. I've worked in a jail before, it's not that hard to get inmate records and review them.

Not sure that's possible, although you can probably tell whether or not they're fleet afoot.

oh well. i have no sympathy at all for people who drive drunk

Nor do I but he still deserves due process. You can't possibly think denying someone due process for two years is ok?

Believe me, I've locked up my share of drunk drivers and take a fair amount of pride in that, but I'd never want to see one of them jailed for two years + without seeing a judge..

its one of those things that i dont necessarily "want" to see, but if it happens then i give zero cares.

...

dkgojackets,

You've never driven while texting? Driven while talking on the phone (even on a handsfree)? Do you think 2 year of constant torture is an adequate punishment for you?

It's drunk driving,not child rape.

dkgo, just curious, which specific crimes warrant you caring about being locked away indefinitely without trial or appearing in front of a judge?

I've read some more on the Slevin case. It seems he was arrested for felony DUI and driving a stolen vehicle. He was jailed in lieu of posting 40k bail and was deemed to be suicidal. Then he was deemed unfit to defend himself and was held while awaiting trial until the charges were dropped.

None of this excuses what they did to him, but it's not as simple a case as forgetting who he is for 2 years after a standard DUI. The main failure was lack of psychological treatment, afaict he never saw an actual psychologist except for a 2 week stay @ a mental health facility towards the end of his incarceration.

I mean....the guy got arrested, mumbled something about suicide, and then couldnt post bail.

The consequence of this was 2 years of absolutely brutal solitary confinement, neglect, a near-complete lack of psychiatric evaluation, and no actual trial, sentencing, conviction, etc.? WTF!?!??! I'm struggling to actually imagine anything worse than this nightmare scenario, as of right now, on a personal level. Whether he was guilty of DUI or stealing a car is almost entirely irrelevant, he wasnt even CONVICTED and they did this to him.

Ok, I understand being mad. I'm mad too, I'm just trying to explain where the failure actually was, and it wasn't because he was held for two years. Being arrested on a felony and then being deemed "unfit to stand trial" basically puts you in purgatory until you receive treatment and can stand trial, or the prosecutor drops the charges. In that regard, this isn't a special case. The issue here was this guy wasn't treated properly for two years while being held.

save me the high horse "he wasnt even convicted". they didnt arrest someone who was driving normally and passed a breathalyzer. in the court of common sense i find people guilty when they actually did something regardless of what nonsense the legal system can come up with.

and no i dont text while driving since its illegal

i dont have my copy of the penal code handy but as a soft rule if its anything that causes you to be a danger to or injures others then i wont care. if you are innocent then i would care.

This guy was speeding! Throw away the key!!
Driving with a brake light out?? The inquisition awaits!!

I disagree with the bolded. While you are essentially correct legally, I would state that the Sheriff still had a responsibility to follow up on this DAILY.

Were I Sheriff in this situation, I would have at least been able to stand before the media and say "I understand two years looks bad, however, I have been contacting the prosecutors office daily for the past 22 months. Here is the phone records and my personal journal logging these phone calls, including who I spoke with and what they stated".

As a keeper of a jail, you cannot sit idly by and watch something like this unfold. The medical concerns are deeply troubling as well.

DBJ for sherriff

The issue is there is no reason whatsoever, aside from chance, that he was only held for 2 years, it could have been 20. Without a trial. Because of a vague reference to suicide at his initial arrest.

This isnt a special case? That is the routine? Drunk guy mentions suicide, is now detained in a living hell, for an indeterminate amount of time, without trial?

Hooooooookay..........

Listen, I'm not trying to suggest this guy was innocent of the DUI charge, or whatever. But there are very few things more fundamentally important to freedom and the foundation of our country than the right to an actual ****ing trial, with real lawyers and judges and gavels and ****. Its pretty goddamn important, and that holds for grizzly drunk driving douchebags as much as it does for potsmokers or Wall Street-occupiers or anyone else. Being imprisoned for 2 years without a trial, and without even any plan for ever having a trial, is really disturbing.

AND THAT IS ONLY LIKE THE FOURTH MOST DISTURBING PART OF THAT ****ING STORY

I'm shocked that nobody has tried to link vhawk to neoconfederatism ITT

And now, news from the lighter side.. Which one of you *******s is this?

Naked Man With Gun In 15-Hour Standoff With Police

I haven't heard from Neblis lately, which concerns me hearing about this..

The God part excludes most (all?) of us, I think.

Sounds like 1st Amendment protected activity. Free exercise of religion and all that.