Lawsuit: Solitary Confinement Violates Inmate's Civil Rights

Convicted killer alleges solitary in state pen in Santa Fe led to deprivation in care

Seven years of forced confinement in a 12-by-7-foot "windowless cell" in the State Penitentiary of Santa Fe has violated the civil rights of Justin Hinzo, the convicted killer alleges in a lawsuit filed today in US District Court.

The governor, state corrections secretary, warden and deputy warden of the prison ratified "the policies that have resulted in permanent physical and psychological injury to Mr. Hinzo," alleges the federal complaint, which requests the 39-year old inmate's immediate release from Level VI solitary confinement to the general population of the penitentiary, as well as $100,000 in monetary damages for every year he's spent in isolation.

Citing international panels that have condemned the use of solitary confinement in the United States, the complaint filed by Santa Fe criminal defense attorney Jason Flores Williams Jr. alleges the defendants violated Hinzo's "basic human dignity" and "right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment" under the Eighth and 14

th

Amendments to the US Constitution.

The complaint alleges chronic staff shortages in the penitentiary staff and an inmate protection program resulted in Hinzo's "indefinite" solitary confinement.

As a result of solitary confinement, the lawsuit alleges, Hinzo suffers from constant medical insomnia; post-traumatic stress disorder; distortion of time, space and perception; disassociation, loss of vision and severe panic attacks; chronic suicidal ideation; visual and auditory hallucinations; constant paranoia; symptoms of manic depression; and hyper-vigilance. "Through their policies and actions," the lawsuit alleges, "defendants have intentionally subjected Mr. Hinzo to an indefinite brutal term of solitary confinement that has resulted in permanent mental and physical damage to him."

Staff shortages have led to lack of medical care, the lawsuit alleges, adding that Hinzo "has frequently been denied access to regular showers."

Department of Corrections spokeswoman Alex Tomlin tells SFR the department follows rules regarding medical care and access to shower and recreation time "very closely." She says Hinzo has refused shower and recreation time.

Mental health specialists visit all inmates once a week, she says. As for staff shortages, recruiting and retention are up in the department, she says.

She says Hinzo has been placed in an inmate protection program because there is an "active" threat against him. She says the department has attempted to release Hinzo to another facility through the Interstate Compact for six months, but the effort was unsuccessful. "We have a duty to make sure inmates are protected," she says.

She says 249 inmates are in Level VI solitary confinement in 11 prisons across the state, 8 percent of inmates, down by 2 percentage points from 2013. About 11 of those inmates are of "such violent nature" that they are placed in an alternative placement area, she says.

Hinzo has been found guilty by jurors of a number of offenses, according to Department of Corrections online records, including: murder in the second degree; aggravated battery with a deadly weapon or resulting in death; resisting arrest; driving while intoxicated; criminal trespass; criminal damage to property; reckless driving; and battery upon a peace officer. His complaint says he's serving out a 28-year prison sentence for a "killing that was committed in self defense."

Corrections Secretary Greg Marcantel "was put on notice regarding the inhumane conditions of Level VI when he voluntarily appeared on the television program Undercover Bosses in which he spent 48 hours in Level VI solitary confinement,"  alleges the lawsuit.

Tomlin says that Marcantel appeared on Nightline, not Undercover Bosses.

Correction: A previous version of this story misstated that Department of Corrections spokeswoman Alex Tomlin told SFR that a reason for Hinzo's solitary confinement was a medical condition. Tomlin, however, does not have access to the inmate's medical records and is not aware if his medical history is related to his confinement. 

   Hinzo 1983 Complaint by justinhorwath




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