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(CBC) - Lewis Loredo, a 42-yr old prison inmate from Colorado Springs had decried his prison’s lack of computers and, particularly, a WiFi connection as disturbing for months. However, the prison’s warden largely ignored the complaints that Mr. Loredo filed - that is until he decided to file a lawsuit.

The lawsuit stated that the prison facility’s lack of internet access in today’s world should be considered “cruel and unusual,” especially to those that were accustomed to it before being sentenced.

“The distinct lack of any sort of access to the world wide web, through either local area ‘LAN’ or wireless ‘WiFi’ connections, poses a disturbing threat to the morale and mental health of those inmates that have grown accustomed to our high-tech culture,” Loredo says in the lawsuit. He then made explicit in the rest of his lawsuit that he demands expedient installation of internet access and permission to use one’s personal laptop.

Before being arrested on tax evasion, Mr. Loredo had been a small-business owner who had grown accustomed to the new age of technology. Incessantly checking email from his Blackberry and tapping out spreadsheets at his computer, Loredo had become so cozy with technology that when he was transferred to prison, he suffered a severe bout of depression, causing a physical breakdown of health that lasted for weeks.

“The doctors took a look at him and couldn’t discover what was making Mr. Loredo ill,” says prison warden Robert Belaruz. “Only weeks later did they inform me that it could be internet withdrawal and that it posed a serious threat to this man’s mental health.” In effect, Mr. Loredo was so addicted to the internet, that he experienced severe psychological withdrawals that could have compromised his health if left unadressed.

Since the lawsuit, the prison has installed over 5 different wireless access points for any inmate that possesses a personal laptop. Other less fortunate inmates have been petitioning their relatives to bring them one. Now over 3/4 of the prison’s population own a laptop.

When asked about how the prison has changed, one guard said, “Its become a lot nicer, much quieter. I don’t necessarily agree with the decision but it’s certainly made life easier for us guards.”

Over a dozen other lawsuits have since been filed with other prisons around the country.

POSTED BY PATRICK KIRKMAN, 12:45:32 NEW YORK, NY