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ALBUQUERQUE — A federal jury has awarded $22 million to a New Mexico man who was kept in solitary confinement for two years after being arrested for drunken driving in Dona Ana County.
Civil-rights attorney Matt Coyte said the jury awarded Stephen Slevin, 58, the damages Tuesday after a six-day trial in Santa Fe.
Slevin ended up in solitary confinement because he was suffering from depression and someone checked a box on a form indicating he was suicidal, Coyte said. Slevin was given some drugs for depression but never saw a mental-health professional, Coyte said. He said his client wrote letters for months seeking help, but they were ignored.
Denver Post wire services
