NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Three years before Tennessee death row inmate Henry Hodges cut off his own penis during what his lawyer called a “psychiatric disturbance,” a fellow prisoner told a federal judge that Hodges was being mistreated. Hodges was kept for three decades in solitary confinement, which experts say is detrimental to a person’s mental health even over short periods. Although his act of self-mutilation is extreme, it underscores the significant, unaddressed mental health care needs of prisoners. In Tennessee alone, Correction Department records categorize nearly 23% of inmates as having a “serious and persistent mental illness.” Meanwhile an audit of the state’s prison system has raised questions about whether it has done enough to confront the crisis.
Tenn. inmate’s mutilation highlights prison mental care woes
