Jose Concepcion Benzor Espinosa was dwelling in darkness long before he was committed to the Federal Medical Center at Devens for what should have been a routine psychological evaluation. Then, seven weeks after entering the prison hospital, Benzor’s bleak world plunged into total blackness.
On July 17, Benzor pulled out both of his eyeballs with his own hands. Although doctors were able to reattach one eye, it is not certain whether Benzor will regain any of his sight.
It is also unclear exactly why Benzor, an undocumented immigrant arrested during a US Border Patrol raid on a west Texas ranch, was sent to a federal prison hospital built on the former Army base in Ayer for evaluation.