Tortured for child support - part four

September 19, 12:12 AMFamily Rights ExaminerTeri Stoddard

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David Bardes was left in a hypothermic jail cell for 32.5
hours, 31.5 more hours than Bush's torture memo allows

Torture in jail is not as rare as one might suspect.  David A. Bardes is just one of tens of thousands who responded when True Equality Network asked the question, "Were you tortured while incarcerated?"

Part one

Part two

Part three

Part four

As he lay in the jail's suicide watch room Bardes took an inventory of his body parts.

My right leg was charlie-horsed in pain and not working that well, my right forearm was the same way, my left index finger was not responding, and I could not keep my left eyelid open. I also had little feeling from the waist downward. My body’s nervous system was out of whack and kept sending signals to my nerve nodes causing involuntary muscle spasms. My brain was coming back on line and was re-programming itself to see if it had command of all of the body’s various functions.

The medical staff knew they had a problem.  A 'Refusal Form' was filled out, and every single worker signed it as witnesses. One nurse even signed it twice, Bardes says, because she was so "freaked out."  He adds, "They went to great lengths to cover their liability should I have died while in their care."

After five days they released him from suicide watch.  Bardes spent one night in a hospital bed and the next day was transferred downstairs to the “medical observation unit.”  He then had his mugshot taken and was issued a prison uniform and content kit, all which should have been done when he first arrived. 

Bardes was placed in a cell with a man he describes as "a violent deaf mute lunatic."  It took Bardes' family 73 days to negotiate his way out of jail.  He even had to agree to leave the state of South Carolina forever. 

Authorties wouldn't let him buy a bus ticket.  Bardes says he was escorted to the airport and observed until he boarded the plane out of state.  He had to sign a form stating he wouldn't sue anyone over the incident, which he says doesn't apply since he agreed while under duress.

Today Bardes has his case in Federal court.  (#02:08-487-PMD-RSC)  He's been litigating the case pro se for about 20 months.  Most of the defendents were put aside, not due to a lack of responsibility, but because of immunity.  Not so for Sheriff James Al Cannon.

Bardes has lingering physical and psychological problems due to the torture.

The first two PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) attacks wound up with me in the emergency room.  Today the attacks come in waves, some start with shaking of the hands, followed by intense abdominal pains. I take a pill and ride out the attacks curled up in the fetal position on my bed until the symptoms subside. They last for about three hours. The worse attacks last all day and include horrible flashbacks.

I suffer from Major Depression, Acute Anxiety Disorder, and PTSD. I am balanced on medication. Both my psychologist and my psychiatrist say I am doing well for what I have been through. I walk with a slight limp, have permanent memory losses, and have memory lapses during conversations, but that may be caused by the medication.

The insidious thing about hypothermia as a torture technique is that if you don’t die from it, you physically recover almost 100%, that’s almost 100%. The psychological damage, however, far overshadows any physical effects. I have lifelong psychological damage.

Subscribe above or follow me on twitter to get notified of part five, and to hear about other stories of parental injustice.

 For more info: 

1. Tortured for child support arrears, he didn't owe - part one
2. Tortured for child support arrears, he didn't owe - part two
3.  Tortured for child support arrears, he didn't owe - part three

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