Diesel therapy


Diesel therapy is a form of punishment in which prisoners are shackled and then transported for days or weeks. It has been described as "the cruelest aspect of being a federal inmate." 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 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. 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 in health care.