CONFIDENTIAL
July 8, 2002
Dr. Glenda Admas
UTMB, Eastern Regional Medical Director
3009 Hwy 30 West
Huntsville, Texas 77340
Dr. Owens.
UTMB Public Affairs Staff
Office of University Advancement
301 University Boulevard
Galveston, Texas 77555-0144
Re: Chad Ray Bennett TDCJ #790798
Wynne Unit, Huntsville, Texas 77349
Dear Dr. Admas and Dr. Owens,
I have been asked by Chad Ray Bennettšs mother, Brenda Pitts Bennett, to provide a psychiatric consultation regarding Mr. Bennett. I am a board certified psychiatrist, a forensic expert on the psychiatric effects of incarceration and correctional mental health care, Co-Chair of the Committee on Persons with Mental Illness Behind Bars of the American Association of Community Psychiatrists, and author of Prison Madness: The Mental Health Crisis Behind Bars and What We Must Do About It (Jossey-Bass, 1999). Mrs. Bennett has a power of attorney signed by her son, and therefore the legal authority to request my consultation and to request that you provide me information about his condition. I wrote to the Special Review on July 5, 2001, but never heard back from them.
I understand that Mr. Bennett has been incarcerated for approximately five years in the TDJC, and has been in segregation for approximately two years. Over the two years in segregation, according to his motheršs report, his psychiatric condition has deteriorated significantly. While he has been previously assigned diagnoses of Bipolar Disorder and Hyperactivity Disorder and treated with appropriate medications for both those conditions, it is my understanding that he is not currently being treated with psychiatric medications. He also suffers from Lymešs Disease and a pain-inducing back condition.
He seems to have skin lesions consistent with Lymešs Disease, but I understand that the blood tests came back just under the level required in your system to make a definitive diagnosis. Of course, this does not mean he is free of the disease, and with his symptoms, and the fact that he has spent time in East Texas and his brother and father suffer from Lymešs disease, it seems to me there should be a high level of suspicion that he is, in fact, suffering from Lymešs Disease.
According to his motheršs report, he has been suffering immensely from the conditions in segregation and his emotional health has been deteriorating over several months. It also seems quite likely he is suffering from a seizure disorder that has not come to the attention of medical personnel at the Wynne Unit. In addition, as you know, the temperature in the segregation unit where he is incarcerated exceeds 110 degrees Fahrenheit at times in the summer, and I am concerned about heat-related urgent medical problems.
At this point I would like to review Mr. Bennettšs medical and psychiatric charts, and request that a psychiatrist examine him to evaluate his condition and consider the liklihood that prolonged punitive segregation is contraindicated for Mr. Bennett because of his past psychiatric history and because of current signs of decompensation. I would appreciate hearing from you and/or the psychiatrist about his situation and what steps are being taken to alleviate his suffering and treat his medical and psychiatric conditions.
Thank you very much.
Sincerely yours,
Terry A. Kupers, M.D., M.S.P.
Cc: Mr Joe Fernald, Senior Warden, Wynne Unit,
Huntsville, TX 77349
Mr Jimmy Alford, Regional Director,
Region I, Texas Department of Criminal Justice,
1225 Ave G, Huntsville, TX 77340