Report: Death Row Inmate Cuts Off Penis After Asking to Be Put On Suicide Watch

A death row inmate cut off his penis after slicing his wrists with a hidden razor and asking to be put on suicide watch, the Associated Press reported.

Earlier this month, prison guards denied Henry Hodges — who has been on death row since 1992 for killing a telephone repairman — from receiving a special food package because the inmate had only five months of clear conduct rather than the required six months.

This prompted the inmate to smear his feces around his prison cell walls on October 3, according to his attorney, Kelly Henry, per the AP. She noted that Hodges had been diagnosed with a bipolar disorder that causes psychotic episodes, such as this one.

In an effort to get him to stop smearing feces, the guards stopped feeding Hodges. However, on October 7, the inmate sliced his wrists with a razor and was brought to the prison infirmary.

Hodges asked to be placed on suicide watch at the infirmary, but a high-ranking correctional officer told him that he was manipulating them and that he could be placed on suicide watch when he was back in his cell.

When Hodges returned to his cell, he used a hidden razor to cut off his penis. The entire sequence of events occurred within 2 hours, according to Henry.

Hodges was transported to Vanderbilt Hospital, where surgeons reattached his severed extremity. After two weeks of recovery at the hospital, he was returned to the corrections facility on October 21 and placed in four-point restraints on a thin mattress cover on top of a concrete block while naked.

He was then placed in six-point restraints after he freed his hand and ripped out his catheter but was returned to four-point restraints after he agreed to take medication.

Upon seeing his condition at the prison Thursday, Henry filed an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order against prison officials the following day, the AP reported.

Attorneys for the Tennessee Department of Corrections argued that he was being given “around the clock” care and constantly evaluated to see if restraints were necessary.

However, Judge I’Ashea Myles ordered that Hodge be provided clothing for his back and genitalia, given mental stimuli, and that the lights in his cell be dimmed at nighttime so he could sleep. Myles did rule he should remain in restraints for his safety and the safety of others.

Myles also ordered the prison to allow Henry or other experts to visit Hodges to evaluate him in preparation for an upcoming hearing on November 14.

Hodges was sentenced to death for killing telephone repairman Ronald Bassett in 1990. He was also given a 40-year sentence for robbing the victim.

You can follow Ethan Letkeman on Twitter at @EthanLetkeman.