Friday, May 4, 2012

Please Explain How This Happened

A type of dungeon called an oubliette (from Middle French for "to forget") had an opening only at the top.  Once you dropped in there, the assumption was that you might be able to survive for a little while, but the idea was to let you die or thirst or hunger.  I keep seeing news accounts of this guy's ordeal, and I find myself wondering: how could this happen by accident?

The DEA apologized Wednesday to Chong, who was accidentally left unattended in a holding cell for five days and reportedly drank his own urine to survive.
San Diego attorney Gene Iredale said his client was "still recovering" from the ordeal. The attorney submitted the initial paperwork needed for a lawsuit Wednesday. The claim seeks $20 million in compensation for the incident.
"He is glad to be alive," Iredale said of Chong. "He wants to make sure that what happened to him doesn't happen to anyone else."
News of the incident came to light when Chong told a San Diego television station he spent nearly a week in the cell without food, water or access to a toilet after an April 21 raid on a house in San Diego.
I find it very hard to believe that not a single guard was present anywhere near this holding cell for five days.  If this was intentional, someone needs to go to prison.

No comments:

Post a Comment