Let’s cut right to the meat of this disturbing story. (Sorry, had to).
Henry Eugene Hodges, a death row prisoner serving time at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville, Tenn., is going to have a tough time going to the bathroom for the foreseeable future, as he recently became so infuriated at being denied a request to be placed on suicide watch that he sliced off his penis in protest.
And he did it with glass shards and a razor blade that he had stashed away in his cell, the New York Post reported.
The situation came to a head after Hodges, who’s been on death row since 1992 for the murder of Ronald Bassett, a telephone repairman, became angry when guards denied him a special food package available to prisoners after six months of good behavior. Hodges had only five months, falling just short of the requirement.
Hodges, diagnosed with extreme mental illness, had a psychotic episode and smeared the interior of his jail cell with feces in retaliation, and reportedly wouldn’t stop. In the hopes of ending the disgusting show of anger, prison guards decided not to feed him. Hodges, in response, opened his wrists with a razor blade or glass shards — reports vary on which implement he used — and nearly killed himself.
Sex-crazed 'gay' triple-murderer on death row, Henry Eugene Hodges, 56, hacks off his penis with broken glass and razor blade after he's denied special food package.
A deep desire to seek revenge after he was sexually abused as a child. https://t.co/kBWBrEgTUt:
— Dalton (@DaltonReport) October 28, 2022
After he was transported to the infirmary, Hodges and his lawyer, Kelley Henry, requested that he be placed on suicide watch.
“He needs competent mental health care,” Henry said. “Surely the prison can find a place to put him where he is not a danger to himself or others and does not have to be tied down like an animal.”
But that’s when the situation turned especially stomach-churning.
Law&Crime reported:
Prison officials transported Hodges to the infirmary where he requested to be placed on suicide watch, Henry reportedly told the outlet. That is when a “high-ranking correctional officer” reportedly told medical personnel that Hodges was merely manipulating them. The high-ranking officer then reportedly suggested that Hodges be put on suicide watch but remain inside of his own cell.
Hodges still had broken glass and razor blades in his cell from his wrist-slitting incident, apparently unbeknownst to the guards, and he reportedly used the razor blade to sever his penis from his body.
The Post picks it up from there:
After his penis was reattached at a hospital, Hodges was sent back to the slammer, where he’s been restrained and confined to a thin mattress on a concrete block, she said. Though initially placed in four-point restraints, he was able to remove a hand and rip out his catheter, so he was put in six-point restraints, Henry told the AP.
He finally agreed to take medication and was returned to the four-point restraints, but hasn’t been allowed to walk or leave the bed, Henry added.
“He is enduring ongoing psychiatric harm as a result of these conditions,” his lawyer said. She added that Hodges was also on a hunger strike.
Eventually, a judge ordered that Hodges be clothed and provided mental stimuli and better care from the prison. Davidson County Chancellor I’Ashea Myles issued the ruling on Friday after Henry had filed for a temporary restraining order.
Deputy Attorney General Scott Sutherland argued on behalf of the Tennessee Department of Corrections, ABC News reported.
“He is being provided around-the-clock care,” Sutherland said of the prisoner. “He’s being evaluated every 24 hours to determine whether the use of restraints is necessary.”
In her ruling, Chancellor Myles prohibited Hodges from experiencing “any treatment that constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.” She also ordered regular status updates on Hodges’ condition to be delivered to her before Nov. 14, when she decides whether or not to extend the TRO.
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