A notorious madam who allegedly supplied escorts to former New York governor Eliot Spitzer has condemned the 'day to day degradation' at Rikers Island and blames the conditions on her turning to prescription drugs.
Kristin Davis, 38, spent four months in solitary confinement in the New York jail after she pleaded guilty to promoting prostitution during the scandal that led to the politician's resignation in 2008.
After she was released, she began suffering from PTSD and started taking Xannax and Ambien, she says.
She was then arrested and convicted of dealing the drugs to a friend who had become FBI informant.
Terrified: Kristin Davis, 38, spent four months at the New York jail after she pleaded guilty to promoting prostitution during the scandal that led to the politician's resignation. She will go to federal prison for two years
Now, she is about to go back behind bars for up to two more years after being sentenced by a federal judge.
In a post for XO Jane, she describes the squalid conditions inside the facility and the alleged mistreatment by prison guards.
She explains how she was taken to the jail after she was convicted and held in solitary confinement for the majority of the time.
'I was taken to Rikers Island. I spent two days in the “intake” area in a cell meant for 10 women, however, there were 25 of us piled in like sardines,' she wrote.
'There was one toilet in the center of the room with no walls and it was full of rotten food and maggots and flies. I was not allowed a phone call, given food or a shower or a real bathroom.
'If you were able to get one of the officers' attention, they would threaten you with solitary for being disruptive. My bail was set at $2 million dollars for a first time offender.
'The officers liked to make comments about our body parts and after about 10 minutes of standing naked in our cells, they would conduct their cavity search.
'That consisted of making us bend and squat to show them our “cavities” to make sure there was no hidden contraband. Then we could get dressed and watch while they tore our cells into shreds looking for hidden items.
'You don’t have much to hold onto in jail but a few photographs and letters, and I had one officer walk over my photographs and rip them just because she could.
Conditions: The notorious madam says guards would comment on body parts during 'cavity' searches and would tear up their cells during random inspections
'The day-in-day-out degradation I experienced in Rikers Island is something you cannot imagine if you haven’t been there. I consider myself lucky to have made it through that experience.
'I got out of Rikers and was a complete mess. I had PTSD, intense panic attacks and insomnia from the solitary confinement.'
It was the struggle that forced Davis to turn to prescription drugs. She said Xanax and Ambien 'became her friends' and she couldn't function without them.
She was then approached by a friend, who had become an FBI informant following an arrest in 2012, who asked her whether she could give him any excess pills.
Mental impact: Davis (pictured outside a Manhattan federal court in 2013) said she began suffering from PTSD when she was released from Rikers, and that is what caused her to turn to prescription pills
Davis was then arrested and although she admits to feeling 'betrayed' she has said she is responsible for her actions and deserves the consequences.
She added: 'I will lose most of my possessions and be homeless when I come out. And you know what I think? I think I got what I deserved.
'My judge said some poignant words to me at sentencing. He said that he sentences many individuals who have no family and grew up in crack houses or even more unspeakable circumstances, and they simply do not know better.
'But I should have known better.
Spitzer reportedly had at least seven liaisons with prostitutes from the agency over six months, and paid more than $15,000 for their services. Federal agents had him under surveillance twice in 2008.
Resignation: Eliot Spitzer stepped down as the New York governor in 2008 following the escort scandal after he reportedly paid for the services of prostitutes from the Emperor's Club VIP
According to published reports, investigators believe Spitzer paid up to $80,000 for prostitutes over a period of several years.
Conditions on Rikers Island have been slammed in recent months, leading a prosecutor to threaten legal action in order to push through meaningful reforms.
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara issued a statement after The New York Times reported that a confidential report showed that the city omitted hundreds of inmate fights from statistics turned over to federal authorities investigating possible civil rights violations.
The newspaper also said the jail supervisors involved in the report had been promoted.
Controversy: Conditions on Rikers Island have been slammed in recent months, leading a prosecutor to threaten legal action in order to push through meaningful reforms
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2800820/manhattan-madam-center-spitzer-scandal-claims-sexual-harassment-day-day-degredation-rikers-island-prepares-return-jail.html#ixzz3GkHowoQ2
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