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Lawsuit: Inmate Left Untreated In New Mexico Jail

A new lawsuit says a Tennessee man who suffers from bipolar disorder was denied his medication and left untreated in a filthy New Mexico solitary confinement cell.

The lawsuit filed recently in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque says 57-year-old Michael Faziani was thrown in a Sierra County solitary confinement cell for days after getting arrested for a minor accident in a McDonald's parking pot.

Court papers say jail guards ignored his request for a shower and his cell got so squalid another inmate had to clean it. Documents say the Columbia, Tennessee man lost 22 pounds in 18 days.

Sierra County officials did not immediately return emails from The Associated Press.

The lawsuit is the latest in a number of high-profile New Mexico cases on solitary confinement practices.

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