Donna Adelson, charged with plotting former son-in-law's death, alleges 'inhumane treatment' in jail, attorneys say
(CNN) - Lawyers for Donna Adelson, a Florida woman charged with murder and other offenses in the 2014 fatal shooting of her former son-in-law, allege she has been subjected to "cruel and unusual punishment."
Adelson's attorney, Marissel Descalzo, filed an emergency motion last week with multiple allegations, including accusations jail staff are forcing the 73-year-old to sit naked and eat with her hands while in a small cell by herself.
The jail staff is also accused of withholding medication from Adelson and making her go days without a shower.
The motion argued the alleged treatment is a violation of Adelson's Sixth Amendment rights because she has been unable to communicate with her attorney or help with her defense.
Descalzo requests the court release Adelson on house arrest or force the jail to improve her conditions, release her from isolation and "place Donna in a unit where she can prepare for trial and speak to her family." It also requests an additional alternative, asking the court to consider issuing Adelson a "psychological evaluation" to place her in a different unit.
A spokesperson for the Leon County Sheriff's Office told the Tallahassee Democrat the Leon County Detention Facility takes the care, custody, and control of everyone in its facility very seriously.
Descalzo told CNN a hearing on the allegations is scheduled for Monday.
Adelson was arrested on November 13 as she and her husband tried to board a flight out of Miami International Airport to Vietnam. She was held at a Miami jail before she was transported to Leon County.
Adelson is charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy, and solicitation in what prosecutors allege was a murder-for-hire killing of Florida State University law professor Dan Markel, her former son-in-law.
Her son, Charles Adelson, a South Florida dentist, was convicted of Markel's murder a week before her arrest.
In the motion, Descalzo said the evidence against her client is "circumstantial at best." Adding "there is a presumption of innocence in this country. Donna is entitled to a fair trial."
