Shawn Francisco Vigil, died in prison. He was not provided an interpreter during the medical/psychological intake process, was placed in isolation and committed suicide.
From a suicide awareness contest
Image: http://media.photobucket.com/image/suicide/ShayySynthetic/SuicideAwarenessContest.jpg?o=3
Below, the link to the Denver Post‘s coverage:
http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_21565502/denver-settles-city-deaf-man-who-died-jail
Jail officials had housed Vigil in a special unit away from the general population and failed to do any “meaningful analysis of whether he posed a substantial danger to himself,” according to the lawsuit that was filed by Debbie Ulibarri, Vigil’s mother.
In recognition of their negligence, Denver has agreed to pay a settlement to Ulibarri’s family in the amount of $695,000.
The suit alleged the city did not adequately train staff, didn’t have proper accommodations for hearing impaired inmates, failed to provide a sign language interpreter and did not screen the inmate for mental health concerns.
Solitary Confinement by Stan Moody
Image: http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/12/03/18701671.php
Related articles
- Reading Levels and the Jail Medical Psychological Intake Form (deafinprison.wordpress.com)
- Innocent deaf woman spends 60 hours in jail without interpreter – From Prisonmovent’s Weblog (deafinprison.wordpress.com)
- Class action law suit related to interpreters in Denver County Jail (deafinprison.wordpress.com)
- Innocent deaf woman spends 60 hours in jail without interpreter (prisonmovement.wordpress.com)
- Deaf Serial Killers (psychologytoday.com)