Inmate Who Endured 91-Hour Erection Files $5M Lawsuit

An Oklahoma inmate was allegedly denied medical care by jail personnel for four days after enduring a 91-hour erection in 2016, according to a lawsuit filed on his behalf Sept. 18. The lawsuit filed against jail employees and county officials is reportedly seeking $5 million for negligence. The event reportedly occurred between Dec. 15 and Dec. 19, 2016.

Dustin Lance alleges he suffered permanent injury while under the care of Pittsburg County Sheriff Chris Morris and his staff. Lance claims that personnel at the Pittsburg County jail neglected his requests for medical care as he experienced "unbearable pain" from an erection. He also claimed that the pain occurred after he consumed a pill given to him by another inmate. The lawsuit alleged that employees teased Lance as they dismissed his pleas for medical assistance.

Lance was transported by jail personnel to McAlester Regional Hospital in McAlester, Oklahoma, on Dec. 19. Medical staffers had said that they were unable to provide treatment to the Lance, and that he would need to be immediately taken to a Tulsa, Oklahoma, hospital to seek care from a urologist, according to the court records. A physician arranged for the inmate's transfer to St. John's Hospital in Tulsa.

"The Board of Commissioners and the Sherrif should be held to a high standard of conduct and should be appropriately punished when failing to maintain even minimum standards," the legal documents read. "An appropriate punishment can only come through monetary penalty and this should be accomplished through an award of punitive damages in an amount not less than $5,000,000."

The case was initially filed in state court but was refiled with the U.S. District Court in Muskogee, Oklahoma, Oct. 10. Sheriff Morris and the Board of County Commissioners are listed as defendants alongside three of the sheriff's deputies, a nurse and 10 unidentified employees.

Lance was originally arrested for burglary and possession of dangerous substances in 2016. He has been released from jail on a judge's request due to his medical issues.

A representative for Dustin Lance and the Board of County Commissioners did not immediately return International Business Times' request for comment.

Prisoners do have rights, but they may vary depending on where they're imprisoned. Rights may also vary depending on what stage the inmate's case is in during the criminal process. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) helps to ensure that jails, prisons, juvenile facilities and immigration detention facilities nationwide obey all necessary laws through the National Prison Project.

"We promote a fair and effective criminal justice system in which incarceration is used only as a last resort, and its purpose is to prepare prisoners for release and a productive, law-abiding life at the earliest possible time," ACLU wrote on its website. "Through litigation, advocacy, and public education, we work to ensure that conditions of confinement are consistent with health, safety, and human dignity, and that prisoners retain all rights of free persons that are not inconsistent with incarceration."

ACLU'S aims to reduce the incarcerated population and halt harmful confinement conditions, among other objectives.