UPDATE: This story has been updated with information provided by the Lehigh County district attorney’s office
A man with serious mental illness has been stuck in solitary confinement at the Lehigh County Jail for more than two months and should be transferred to a state mental hospital, according to a motion from the man’s lawyer.
Attorney Ettore Angelo filed a motion Nov. 9 in the Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas requesting bail modifications for his client so that he may be transferred to Norristown State Hospital in Montgomery County. In the motion, Angelo states that his client, a 38-year-old man whom 첥Ƶ is not naming because of his mental illness, has been held in solitary confinement since he was incarcerated at the jail Sept. 11. Since that time, his mental illness has worsened and he has experienced “unjustified pain and suffering,” Angelo said.
In an emailed statement, the Lehigh County district attorney’s office said it is not involved in the decision-making process of where an inmate is housed in a jail. The office added that the man is on a waiting list at the jail to be transferred to Norristown State Hospital, but where he is on that list or how long it may take for him to be transferred is out of the office’s control.
The man faces felony charges of burglary and criminal trespassing and a misdemeanor charge of criminal mischief property damage. He is accused of breaking into a building at Resurrection Cemetery in Lower Macungie Township while no one was there and stealing hot dogs, a bank debit card and packets of naproxen, an over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medication. The man is also charged with violating the terms of his parole on a previous simple assault charge.
His combined bail for all charges is $30,000 and he would need to post $2,400 to be released.
Angelo said his client is believed to have been sleeping in the cemetery even though he had housing that was paid for by his father and brother.
In the motion, Angelo said that because of the way his client’s stay at the jail has affected his mental health, he refused to come out of his cell to attend a preliminary hearing for his case. But if his client is taken to Norristown State Hospital, where he previously stayed, he can get care that will help him, the filing said.
“Norristown State Hospital is not a terrific place to vacation but better than him being in a jail cell. Of course, he’s restricted, but at least he’s there and he’s getting treatment,” Angelo said.
Angelo also is involved in ongoing litigation against the Lehigh County Jail over a different prisoner’s experience in solitary. That lawsuit, which was filed in the spring, accuses the jail of causing irreparable physical, psychological and emotional harm to a woman with mental illness who was kept in solitary at the jail for about eight months.
Critics of solitary confinement oppose its use on prisoners with mental illness in particular and say it can lead to a worsening of their symptoms.
Nationally, about 44% of people incarcerated in local jails have been diagnosed with a mental illness, according to the Prison Policy Initiative. People with a major mental illness diagnosis are more than 50% more likely to be sentenced for a misdemeanor than those without, .
At the same time, found that in jail, people with mental illness are more likely to face disciplinary action, including solitary confinement. The study also found that people with mental illness are penalized more harshly than those without, and their stays in solitary confinement are up to three times longer.
Critics say prisoners, especially those with mental illness, languish during these long stays. One expert, Dr. Terry Kupers, previously told 첥Ƶ that spending more than two months in solitary confinement is associated with mental illness, disability and increased mortality.
