Prison inmate Harold Bell spent seven months at MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in Suffield using a mattress that he said was slashed down the middle and smelled like mold and mildew. As a result, he said, he had difficulty sleeping, joint pain and headaches.
The 38-year-old Bell was so upset he filed a federal lawsuit by himself — handwriting some of the documents — in which he alleged he was the victim of cruel and unusual punishment. Inmates seldom prevail in lawsuits over prison conditions, but on Jan. 31 a Superior Court jury agreed with Bell and awarded him $12,000.
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