Plead the Eighth
Wednesday, August 29, 2012 at 9:40AM The Eighth Ammendment:
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
James (Jay) D. Ward is a convicted criminal, currently serving his sentence at Leavenworth Penitentiary in Kansas.
Jay was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes while incarcerated. He was having the classic symptoms of excessive thirst, weight loss, frequent urination, but when he started throwing up and was short of breath he was taken to the hospital.
With a BG of 951, Jay slipped into a diabetic coma.
Although doctors only gave him a 10% chance of surviving he pulled through.
Now Jay has an ongoing problem. He cannot have syringes in his cell, which I understand, and he can't have an insulin pump either. Jay has to go to the Health Center in the prison to receive his shots. The problem is he is forced to receive those shots 3 hours after he eats!
Three hours!
When he finally gets insulin his BG has already spiked and we all know the damage that is being done during the time it is so high.
Please join me and many others in petitioning the penitentary in Leavenworth, Kansas. Provide people with diabetes with adequate care.
diaTribe has a full article all about Jay's story that I urge you to read.
If this is happening to him, we can only assume that its happening to other PWD's in prison. This is cruel and unusual punishment.
Now my father was a Sheriff's Deputy for Los Angeles county. I have been raised to obey the law and not have a lot of sympathy for criminals. If you do the crime you do the time.
But that is not where it ends.
We are humans first. The ones that do right and the ones that do wrong. I do not believe he should not be in prison. I do not believe he should have less a sentence.
I do however believe he deserves to be healthy. And the damage this is doing to his body could be a far longer sentence than the years the judge handed him.
Please spread the word.
Reader Comments (2)
Thanks for this.
What an incredibly appalling issue, that this happens. And you're right, George - it likely does happen in more places than we know and see reported. There was one issue in Texas that was out there a couple years ago, and I'm sure it's going on elsewhere. I didn't know your dad was law enforcement, and I really appreciated seeing that as part of your perspective on this. Very well done on the post, my friend. Thank you.