Diesel therapy is a form of punishment in the United States in which prisoners are shackled and then transported for days or weeks; the term refers to the
diesel fuel
Diesel fuel , also called diesel oil, is any liquid fuel specifically designed for use in a diesel engine, a type of internal combustion engine in which fuel ignition takes place without a spark as a result of compression of the inlet air and t ...
used in
prisoner transport vehicle
A prisoner transport vehicle, informally known as a "Sweat Box" amongst British prisoners, is a specially designed or retrofitted vehicle, usually a van or bus, used to transport prisoners from one secure area, such as a prison or courthouse, to ...
s. It has been alleged that some inmates are deliberately sent to incorrect destinations as an exercise of diesel therapy. Voluntary surrender at the prison where the inmate will serve his time is recommended as a way of avoiding diesel therapy. The case of former U.S. Representative
George V. Hansen
George Vernon Hansen (September 14, 1930 – August 14, 2014) was a United States Republican Party, Republican politics, politician from the U.S. state of Idaho. He served in the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representative ...
involved accusations of diesel therapy, as did the case of
Susan McDougal, one of the few people who served prison time as a result of the
Whitewater controversy
The Whitewater controversy, Whitewater scandal, Whitewatergate, or simply Whitewater, was an American political controversy during the 1990s. It began with an investigation into the real estate investments of Bill and Hillary Clinton and their ass ...
. Diesel therapy is sometimes used on disruptive inmates, including gang members. Other alleged recipients include Rudy Stanko, who was also the defendant in the speeding case that ended Montana's "free speed" period.
The term "diesel therapy," or "dumping," is also used to refer to a method by law-enforcement personnel of getting rid of troublesome individuals by placing them on a bus to another jurisdiction.
This is also known as bus therapy and is akin to
Greyhound therapy
Greyhound therapy is a pejorative term used in the US health care system since the mid-1960s to refer to mental health authorities' buying a ticket on a Greyhound Lines bus to get rid of possible "troublemaker" patients.
The practice is still i ...
in
health care
Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...
.
See also
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Penal transportation
Penal transportation or transportation was the relocation of convicted criminals, or other persons regarded as undesirable, to a distant place, often a colony, for a specified term; later, specifically established penal colonies became their ...
*
Prisoner Transportation Services
References
{{reflist
Punishments
Penal system in the United States