Issue link: https://nnumagazine.uberflip.com/i/198576
Prisons:3 8/15/07 3:34 PM Page 13 "IF SOMEONE ENDS UP IN PRISON THE LAW SAYS 'NO CRUEL OR UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT.' If we're taught to obey all the other laws, why is that one left out? If you can accept people suffering in prison due to medical neglect, what kind of person are you? Why does the law and good behavior apply only when people want it to apply?" o'clock. When we returned to the housing unit they announced over the intercom that her appointment had been cancelled." Pat recalled that Minerva suffered in a weakened state for many days, unable to take a shower until her cellmates set up a chair and helped her clean herself. Minerva was unable to either walk or drink water. Toward the end, Pat remembered, "Minerva's mouth was white inside. You could see the red veins beneath the skin on her face." The last day Minerva was in the cell remains vivid for Pat. "She was lying on the floor because she was hot and the floor was cool, and she said, 'Please go get an officer,'" Pat said. J U LY | A U G U S T 2 0 0 7 Pat spoke to the officer who didn't respond right away. When he did arrive, he looked Minerva over, according to Pat, and told Minerva, "You're breathing, you're conscious, and you're not bleeding." Pat said Minerva looked up at the officer and said, "But you don't understand. I'm dying." Minerva was eventually taken to the hospital. But Pat called what came after, "predictable." Cellmates watched as prison officials came in and emptied Minerva's locker, including the 602 complaint forms Pat had helped Minerva fill out in an attempt to receive proper medical attention. "You always know when someone is dead," Pat said. "They go directly to the locker." W W W. C A L N U R S E S . O R G REGISTERED NURSE 13