New York inmate sues for penis bite by prison rodent

Peter Solomon was jailed in the Nassau County Correctional Center near New York City, pending trial on charges he had menaced his wife. However, he got more than he bargained for. A rodent took a liking to his penis whilst he slept and had a bite. Solomon later had to endure a course of rabies jabs and he says jailers knew the ward in which they placed him was infested with rodents.

So he's going to sue the jail. Lawyers for Nassau County sought to have his suit dismissed. Among other arguments, its experts said they saw no evidence of serious injury. Serious injury? So there were signs of some kind of injury? I'd say the county were in a bit of difficulty. They place him in a part of the jail where rats were known to roam and they do not apparently deny that one rodent bit this man's penis.

The judge said, "The parties dispute whether the rodent was a mouse or a rat, whether Solomon was bitten or scratched, and the nature and extent of his injuries." I suppose time will tell whether the authorities think rats and mice should be in prisons anyway. Maybe if Solomon had a finger or toe bitten then it might have been different. Having your penis bitten whilst being in jail for allegedly menacing your wife may be seen by some in the system as poetic justice!

However, there is a serious side to all this. How do those considered to be mentally ill fare in penal establishments? Is it OK for a rodent to bite a mentally ill man's penis? And what if newly jailed Tom DeLay gets his penis nipped by some nocturnal ferret? He won't take it lying down! Will such hullabaloo be cause for intervention? It seems that authorities today are quick to absolve themselves of responsibility in the first instance, then if that fails, try to find a remedy that gives them credit for innovative change.

If a job is worth doing, it's worth doing well. And that includes proper care in prisons.

Postscript - I see DeLay is out pending appeal. No worries about rats then?