TIJUANA, Mexico -- An 81-year-old cancer patient who was jailed in Tijuana for buying Valium without a prescription spoke to reporters Thursday during a hospital visit.
George Murl (pictured, left), of Oxnard, Calif. was arrested May 24 on suspicion of drug smuggling after he allegedly purchased 600 Valium tablets without a prescription.
Since that time, Murl, who suffers from prostate cancer, has been held in a state penitentiary in Tijuana.
Murl was allowed to visit a Tijuana hospital for a checkup Thursday, where he answered questions from reporters.
"I'm in a cell with a man who is 78-years-old. He commited no crime. I've seen things here I never believed existed," Murl said.
Looking frail and unsteady, Murl said that he had no bed in the prison.
"I laid on a wet cement floor (with) no blanket. The next two nights, I stood against a cell for 12-14 hours," he said.
Murl also said that he is not being given any medication stronger than aspirin while in the prison.
"I've had pain for a while. I asked for medication. They give me some aspirin. I gave it to somebody who needed it more than me," Murl said.
After Murl's visit to the hospital, he was expected to be transferred back to the prison. His granddaughter, Janice Bloom (pictured, right), fears that he may not survive.
"As of now, I think he's going to die over there. That would break my heart. I can't imagine losing him," Bloom said.
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