By Kevin Johnson and Andrew Seaman, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — The number of accused felons declared mentally incompetent to stand trial is rising in 10 of the nation's 12 largest states, delaying local prosecutions and swamping state mental health and prison systems, a USA TODAY review finds.
These defendants cost hundreds of millions of dollars to treat and house as local governments tighten their budgets because of a slowing economy.
Legal analysts attribute the increase to a lack of mental health care, judges' increased openness to such claims and legal strategies by defendants to try to avoid harsh punishment.
"It's a huge problem," says Joshua Marquis, a vice president of the National District Attorneys Association. "It's equally bad for the accused and the victims" because cases linger.
Criminal defendants who do not understand the legal proceedings against them are generally declared by judges to be incompetent for trial. Most are referred to mental health facilities and treated. The length of treatment varies from an average of three weeks in Virginia to more than nine months in Tennessee before they are deemed fit for trial or mental health experts determine they cannot be successfully treated, the USA TODAY review found.
There is wide variation in how states track thousands of incompetency rulings, and some do not track them at all. Of the 12 most populous states, Texas reported a decline last year and New Jersey did not provide data.
Among states reporting increases:
• Florida: State policy analysts reported in March that incompetent defendants there doubled from 1,061 to 2,123 in the past five years. Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice R. Fred Lewis says that reflects a lack of access to treatment even before the accused enter the criminal justice system. Florida officials spend about $250 million yearly on treatment aimed at restoring mental fitness. The state projects the cost will double in the next seven years.
• Ohio: About 32% of 1,050 state mental hospital patients have been charged with crimes but declared unfit for trial. Most are accused felons, and that number has risen recently, says Howard Sokolov, Ohio's medical director for forensic services.
• California: Mentally incompetent defendants treated by state mental health providers increased in four of the past five years. Accused and convicted offenders now occupy 4,500 of the state's 5,000 mental hospital beds, up from 500 more than a decade ago, says the state Department of Mental Health.
Ken Murray, chairman of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers' mental health committee, says competency claims are gaining acceptance among judges, prosecutors and defense lawyers in part because of growing efforts to identify the wrongfully convicted. "Some of these people who made false confessions" — and were convicted based on those statements — "had competence problems to start with," says Murray, a federal public defender in Phoenix.
Sokolov says incompetency caseloads for Ohio's mental health assessors have risen 22% in the past five years. "There is an increasing amount of people who are finding it difficult to obtain (mental health) services," he says, "and they tend to get in trouble with the law."
Contributing: Katharine Lackey
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Monday, May 26, 2008
Lacking treatment options, mentally ill go to jail
By DAVID GUNTER
Correspondent
SANDPOINT - In Idaho, as in Bonner County, the fastest way to land in jail without committing a crime is to suffer from mental illness.
And it's not because of any shortcomings on the part of local law enforcement officials - they already go above and beyond the call of duty when responding to situations where a mentally ill person is “in crisis.”
Where the system falls apart is after the event takes place - particularly in rural communities with limited resources. Faced with a severe lack of secure facilities, law enforcement personnel often have no choice but to incarcerate the individual, further exacerbating a shortage of space needed to house those people who actually have committed a crime.
The same holds true for the Idaho prison system, which has a markedly higher percentage of inmates with mental illness - 44 percent for juveniles; 28 percent for adults, according to the Partnership for Safety and Justice - than the national average for adults of 16 percent.
“Many people with mental illness are in the state's correctional system,” said Dr. Ann Wimberley, president of NAMI Far North - the regional chapter for the National Alliance on Mental Illness. “Some of them are there because they actually committed a crime, but some are there because of a lack of resources in their own community.”
The gap is not surprising, since Idaho ranks 49th in the nation for spending on mental health, earning the state a grade of “F” for mental health services from NAMI's national office. Although Kootenai County has a 10-bed facility that provides a temporary solution, as many as eight of those beds are used by the state at any given time, Wimberley said, which leaves Kootenai County with a shortage of its own.
“Having a safe place to take a person who's having a crisis is a big problem for law enforcement,” she added. “This is a situation that needs to be addressed by leaders of the community.”
With that in mind, NAMI Far North hosted a luncheon in Sandpoint on May 21, bringing together about 70 people representing the mental health
See NAMI, Page 3
and medical communities, elected officials from the city and county, law enforcement, the judicial system and the state Legislature. The speaker at that gathering, District Judge John Mitchell, highlighted a program that shows promise in those cases where crimes have taken place - a Mental Health Drug Court.
“In my courtroom, I began seeing a correlation between crimes of addiction and mental illness,” Mitchell said. “And if you talk to any district judge in the state, they would tell you the same thing.
“There are 5,000 inmates in the Idaho prison system and about 70 percent of that population is there for a crime of addiction,” he continued. “Almost half of them - about 1,750 people - also have a mental illness.”
Started about four years ago, the Mental Health Drug Court program in North Idaho began with five participants and has climbed to nearly 40.
“Most of our participants come to us when they are close to rock bottom - they're homeless, they're jobless,” Mitchell said. “We have saved more than a quarter-million dollars in jail costs and about $129,000 in hospital costs.”
Those figures are calculated by summing up how much these same individuals - most of whom were “return customers” to the judicial system, according to Mitchell - racked up in emergency room fees and jail time during the previous year, compared with their financial impact after joining the program. Routing people with mental illness into this group provides a network of support, education and treatment, the judge pointed out.
“This is a system-wide problem,” he said. “We have had a tendency to simply incarcerate and think that's going to solve the problem. But you need treatment.”
Mitchell also introduced a course called Crisis Intervention Training (CIT), which started in Memphis in 1988, after the fatal shooting of a mentally ill person during a response call by law enforcement.
“The program is in use in all but 10 states - and we're one of them where it isn't,” the judge said. “I'm here to start that dialog.
“Quite simply, what CIT involves is law enforcement walking a mile in health care's shoes and the other way around,” he added. “That way, when you're at somebody's house and they're unstable, you have a lot better idea of what you're getting into and a lot more options to work with, based on the knowledge the CIT program can give.”
Local law enforcement officials are on board regarding the need for training, but express frustration that they are often placed in the role of first responder to incidents that might be avoided or, at the very least, defused, before their help is needed.
“Law enforcement is ill-equipped to deal with this and we have zero options,” said Sandpoint Police Chief Mark Lockwood. “I think the hospitals look at us and say, ‘They've got the handcuffs and they take people into custody all the time,' so we get the calls. The biggest issue is that we lack facilities and a way to get these individuals the help they need.”
Lockwood applauds NAMI Far North's efforts to pull the community together in search of solutions for an issue that, by all accounts, has no easy answers.
“As a coalition - working together with NAMI, law enforcement and the judicial system - we can lobby the legislature for funds to build regional treatment facilities,” the police chief said.
“That's something we talk about every year with our lawmakers,” said Bonner County Sheriff Elaine Savage, “but this year, the legislature was not kind to North Idaho as far as treatment facilities. We have people in jail who shouldn't be there. These people don't need to be incarcerated, they need help.”
Wimberley said the Idaho Legislature already has approved funding a secure, 300-bed facility in a former warehouse on state prison property, with about 250 beds set aside for people with mental illness who have been sentenced for a crime. The other 50 beds at that prison facility, however, will be used to hold mentally ill individuals who have not committed an offense.
Like the sheriff and the police chief, the NAMI Far North president believes handling the matter at the local level would be a better direction.
“It's the right thing to do,” Wimberley said. “Rather than placing people in the correctional system, it's not only more humane to treat them in the community, it's also more cost-effective.”
NAMI Far North provides support, education and advocacy for people with mental illness, their families and friends. The group meets on the third Wednesday of every month from 6-8 p.m. at the Bonner General Hospital classroom.
Information: www.nami.org/sites/namifarnorth
Correspondent
SANDPOINT - In Idaho, as in Bonner County, the fastest way to land in jail without committing a crime is to suffer from mental illness.
And it's not because of any shortcomings on the part of local law enforcement officials - they already go above and beyond the call of duty when responding to situations where a mentally ill person is “in crisis.”
Where the system falls apart is after the event takes place - particularly in rural communities with limited resources. Faced with a severe lack of secure facilities, law enforcement personnel often have no choice but to incarcerate the individual, further exacerbating a shortage of space needed to house those people who actually have committed a crime.
The same holds true for the Idaho prison system, which has a markedly higher percentage of inmates with mental illness - 44 percent for juveniles; 28 percent for adults, according to the Partnership for Safety and Justice - than the national average for adults of 16 percent.
“Many people with mental illness are in the state's correctional system,” said Dr. Ann Wimberley, president of NAMI Far North - the regional chapter for the National Alliance on Mental Illness. “Some of them are there because they actually committed a crime, but some are there because of a lack of resources in their own community.”
The gap is not surprising, since Idaho ranks 49th in the nation for spending on mental health, earning the state a grade of “F” for mental health services from NAMI's national office. Although Kootenai County has a 10-bed facility that provides a temporary solution, as many as eight of those beds are used by the state at any given time, Wimberley said, which leaves Kootenai County with a shortage of its own.
“Having a safe place to take a person who's having a crisis is a big problem for law enforcement,” she added. “This is a situation that needs to be addressed by leaders of the community.”
With that in mind, NAMI Far North hosted a luncheon in Sandpoint on May 21, bringing together about 70 people representing the mental health
See NAMI, Page 3
and medical communities, elected officials from the city and county, law enforcement, the judicial system and the state Legislature. The speaker at that gathering, District Judge John Mitchell, highlighted a program that shows promise in those cases where crimes have taken place - a Mental Health Drug Court.
“In my courtroom, I began seeing a correlation between crimes of addiction and mental illness,” Mitchell said. “And if you talk to any district judge in the state, they would tell you the same thing.
“There are 5,000 inmates in the Idaho prison system and about 70 percent of that population is there for a crime of addiction,” he continued. “Almost half of them - about 1,750 people - also have a mental illness.”
Started about four years ago, the Mental Health Drug Court program in North Idaho began with five participants and has climbed to nearly 40.
“Most of our participants come to us when they are close to rock bottom - they're homeless, they're jobless,” Mitchell said. “We have saved more than a quarter-million dollars in jail costs and about $129,000 in hospital costs.”
Those figures are calculated by summing up how much these same individuals - most of whom were “return customers” to the judicial system, according to Mitchell - racked up in emergency room fees and jail time during the previous year, compared with their financial impact after joining the program. Routing people with mental illness into this group provides a network of support, education and treatment, the judge pointed out.
“This is a system-wide problem,” he said. “We have had a tendency to simply incarcerate and think that's going to solve the problem. But you need treatment.”
Mitchell also introduced a course called Crisis Intervention Training (CIT), which started in Memphis in 1988, after the fatal shooting of a mentally ill person during a response call by law enforcement.
“The program is in use in all but 10 states - and we're one of them where it isn't,” the judge said. “I'm here to start that dialog.
“Quite simply, what CIT involves is law enforcement walking a mile in health care's shoes and the other way around,” he added. “That way, when you're at somebody's house and they're unstable, you have a lot better idea of what you're getting into and a lot more options to work with, based on the knowledge the CIT program can give.”
Local law enforcement officials are on board regarding the need for training, but express frustration that they are often placed in the role of first responder to incidents that might be avoided or, at the very least, defused, before their help is needed.
“Law enforcement is ill-equipped to deal with this and we have zero options,” said Sandpoint Police Chief Mark Lockwood. “I think the hospitals look at us and say, ‘They've got the handcuffs and they take people into custody all the time,' so we get the calls. The biggest issue is that we lack facilities and a way to get these individuals the help they need.”
Lockwood applauds NAMI Far North's efforts to pull the community together in search of solutions for an issue that, by all accounts, has no easy answers.
“As a coalition - working together with NAMI, law enforcement and the judicial system - we can lobby the legislature for funds to build regional treatment facilities,” the police chief said.
“That's something we talk about every year with our lawmakers,” said Bonner County Sheriff Elaine Savage, “but this year, the legislature was not kind to North Idaho as far as treatment facilities. We have people in jail who shouldn't be there. These people don't need to be incarcerated, they need help.”
Wimberley said the Idaho Legislature already has approved funding a secure, 300-bed facility in a former warehouse on state prison property, with about 250 beds set aside for people with mental illness who have been sentenced for a crime. The other 50 beds at that prison facility, however, will be used to hold mentally ill individuals who have not committed an offense.
Like the sheriff and the police chief, the NAMI Far North president believes handling the matter at the local level would be a better direction.
“It's the right thing to do,” Wimberley said. “Rather than placing people in the correctional system, it's not only more humane to treat them in the community, it's also more cost-effective.”
NAMI Far North provides support, education and advocacy for people with mental illness, their families and friends. The group meets on the third Wednesday of every month from 6-8 p.m. at the Bonner General Hospital classroom.
Information: www.nami.org/sites/namifarnorth
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Nobody's Fault
The anatomy of a suicide in the Humboldt County Jail
By the HSU Journalism Department's Investigative Reporting class
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In January, journalism students from HSU, as part of an investigative reporting class taught by Assistant Professor Marcy Burstiner, set out to understand the intersection of the mental health and criminal justice systems in Humboldt County by investigating the death of one man: James Lee Peters, a Hoopa resident who committed suicide in the Humboldt County Jail last August. Over three months they intended to interview people who knew him as well as people who work in mental health and criminal justice. They were met with a wall of silence: Many people did not respond to repeated requests for information. People in the mental health field who did respond said they could not discuss his case because of privacy protections required under federal law. His lawyers argued that attorney-client privilege survives the death of a client. The Hoopa community, unused to anything but negative news, did not feel comfortable talking about Peters to the press.
The mental health system in Humboldt and across the state turned out to be a labyrinth they couldn't penetrate; instead of answering basic questions about standard procedures one agency after another bounced them from office to office. A public information officer at Atascadero State Hospital forced them to file a California Public Records Request just to find out how its trial competency program works.
So the students poured through records: Court minutes and files that are open to public inspection; birth, death and autopsy reports; court transcripts, case files released from the district attorney's office in response to another public records request and procedural reports and data from Atascadero. Their conclusion based on the records and interviews: The untimely death of James Lee Peters was both entirely preventable and inevitable. It reflected the inability of our mental health system to help people until it is too late, and the failure of the criminal justice system to handle the people who end up in the jails as a result.
The students involved in the project were: Chris Hoff, Karina Gonzalez, Matthew Barry, Matthew Hawk, Marc Kozachenko, Tatiana Cummings, Cassandra Hoisington, Melinda Spencer, Deunn Willis, Nicole Willens, Adrian Emery and Meghannraye Sutton.
James Lee Peters spent his 25th birthday last August behind the walls of the Humboldt County Jail, waiting to be taken to a state mental hospital. He spent his previous birthday much the same way. He wouldn't live to see the next. Instead, 10 days after he turned 25, Peters took the sheet off his bed, tore it into strips, tied them together and hanged himself. He would be on life support for eight days at St. Joseph Hospital before he would die of asphyxiation.
If Peters understood what he was doing when he ended his life, it might have been the only time he fully understood his actions. Complications at birth gave him learning disabilities and a low IQ. Throughout his life he needed mental health counseling but received little. He tended to lash out when he was angry and that repeatedly put him in trouble with the law. What began as small outbursts became increasingly violent, until the criminal justice system could no longer overlook the threat he represented. Instead, as his criminal record piled up, the Humboldt County Superior Court bounced him between a variety of mental health facilities, but only to make him competent enough to stand trial.
But this story doesn't stop with Peters. Because the tragedy is that we fill our jail, and jails across the state and country, with people just like him. There are alternatives, but not in Humboldt County.
"This community treats dogs better then the mentally ill," said District Attorney Paul Gallegos. "My hope is that we [would] treat our mentally ill better than we treat a dog."
What little we know about James Lee Peters plays out through documents obtained under the California Public Records Act. Everyone he interacted with, from teachers, police officers, lawyers, doctors, counselors, probation officers and jail guards refused to speak about him or his particular case for this story. Neither would members of his family, who still grieve over his death and who intend to file suit against any party they can find responsible. As of yet, no lawsuit has been filed.
Here's what we do know. James Lee Peters, nicknamed Hans, was a Yurok Indian from Hoopa who entered the world much the same way he would leave it: gasping for air.
At birth Peters was without oxygen for several minutes. That manifested into developmental and cognitive problems. Jamie Lynn Solano gave birth to Peters at age 16; he was the first of her three children. His biological father did not acknowledge him and the first years of his life weren't easy. He suffered physical abuse and several members of his family battled with drug and alcohol problems. Sometime in his childhood Peters saw a counselor briefly in Hoopa but stopped because the family feared he would be taken from his mother. Around age five, social workers took him from his mother and he went to live with his grandmother Joyce Croix, whom Peters credited with raising him
If you drive east on Highway 299 and head north on Highway 96 through dense redwood forests, you will descend into the Hoopa Valley. Here a Ray's Food and the Lucky Bear Casino stand against a backdrop of jagged mountains. Nearby, the Trinity River flows past grounds where Hoopa residents still hold ancient healing and renewal ceremonies, such as the sacred Jump Dance and Boat Dance.
With about 2,600 people on 144 square miles, Hoopa is at once the state's largest Indian reservation and a small town where everyone knows everyone. The sovereign nation is separated from the rest of the county by both distance and culture. The tribal government administers health services on the reservation, including some drug, alcohol and mental health treatment, but offers no residential treatment facility. It educates students in conjunction with the Klamath-Trinity Joint Union School District.
Peters had a difficult time learning, so he was put in special education classes at Hoopa Valley Elementary. His fourth-grade yearbook picture shows a dark-haired boy with a big smile. The picture of him in fifth grade shows an 11-year-old boy standing straight and looking proud. (Few of the people who knew Peters at that age were willing to speak of him on the record. Most of what follows comes from reports written later by officials and psychologists who interacted with him at various stages in his journey through the criminal justice system.)
In the ninth grade, his grandmother died. Peters later said that that period in his life was emotionally difficult for him, and as a result he had trouble in school. He was involved in three physical fights, was caught with marijuana, and was expelled.
At 14, psychological evaluations determined that his verbal comprehension was "particularly impaired." He continued his education at Captain John Continuation High School in Hoopa, and was shuffled between the homes of various members of his extended family. But he lacked a primary guardian.
The lack of guidance took its toll. At 16, he picked up a rock and threw it at a teacher's car, cracking the windshield. Police charged him with battery of a school employee and he served 60 days in Juvenile Hall. In throwing that rock he threw himself into the Humboldt County criminal justice system and he would never climb out of it.
The Hoopa Valley Tribal Police station has no holding cell. Each time a suspect is arrested police drive him 60 miles to the county jail in Eureka. Taking someone that far for relatively minor crimes adds a "traumatic element" to an already traumatic situation, said Graham Hill, chief of the Rio Dell police department. While Rio Dell sits at the opposite end of the county, his department also lacks a holding cell. The drive from Rio Dell to Eureka is just 25 miles, but that extra trauma, he said, can do more harm in the long run for prisoners who are mentally ill. The geographic distance also makes it difficult for family to visit prisoners in the county jail.
Peters soon added two more infractions — criminal threat of assault and battery and assault with a deadly weapon — to his juvenile record. About that time, he landed his first and only job, that of a choker setter for Three Star Logging Company, a typical entry level job in the logging business.
As a choker setter, he would likely have trudged up hillsides machines could not access, to wrap a cable under and around a log, forming a noose so that they could be pulled up to a place where they can be put on a truck. It is not an easy job, said Robert VanNatta, part owner of a 30-year-old logging business in Apiary, Ore.
While VanNatta didn't employ Peters or know of him, he could explain the type of work Peters likely had. "You cannot exaggerate the difficulty and danger of choker setting," VanNatta said. After securing the noose, the choker setter must quickly get away or risk getting crushed from rolling logs. Peters liked manual labor, but quit after he was denied a $1.25 an hour raise. That marked the end of his employment and education.
Unable to control his anger or impulses, his offenses became increasingly serious. As an adult numerous evaluations found that he suffered from Paranoid Personality Disorder, mild mental retardation and schizophrenia. At 24, his IQ was 67, which is the equivalent to that of an average 11-year-old child. Only 2.3 percent of the population possess IQs lower than 70.
His trouble deepened in 2001. Between October of that year and August 2002, he would be arrested five times. In two of those cases he assaulted women. In one he threatened a woman with great bodily injury. As a result of those arrests, he was sentenced to a 52-week batterer's program that he would never complete, and three years probation. When released, he became a statistic.
Megan Gotcher was Hans Peters' probation officer and is now a senior officer for the Humboldt County Probation Department. There are more than 50 officers in the county, but each officer is responsible for 60-100 probationers at a time.
"If you have a hundred cases, it is hard," Gotcher said. "You deal with searches, subpoenas and home contracts. Sometimes you just have to put out the fire." Probation officers work closely with Hoopa Human Services, but are not trained in mental health services.
The Humboldt County Superior Court questioned Peters' mental health in Dec. 2001 and placed him on two years of conditional release under a program run by the county's Department of Health and Family Services. It was responsible for providing Peters with treatment and supervision while he lived in his community.
But whatever supervision it gave him wasn't enough. In Aug. 2003, police arrested him for pushing his mother and assaulting a friend of hers with a shovel, sending him to the hospital. Around that time a car accident left him with major injuries. Peters would later tell a probation officer that after the accident, he more easily lost his temper and experienced suicidal feelings.
That January, police arrested him for trespassing and vandalism. A month later, they arrested him again for attacking a man with an iron. He was sentenced to three more years probation, but this time the court ordered him to enroll with the Redwood Coast Regional Center, a private, non-profit referral agency for the treatment of people with developmental disabilities, and to participate in a counseling program run by psychologist Karl Fisher through the Hoopa Valley Tribe's Division of Human Services. While waiting for the regional center to evaluate him, he attacked an inmate and in another incident was charged with attacking a custodial officer.
Finally, in April 2004, Eureka clinical psychologist Otto Vanoni evaluated Peters and suggested that his problem was medical rather than criminal and that he belonged in a medical facility rather than a jail.
Peters was housed in isolation during the time of the evaluation, which worsened his condition, Vanoni wrote. "A failure to move him from solitary confinement and a continuation of jailing will only lead to further decomposition of functioning," Vanoni wrote. Vanoni described Peters at the time as having short brown hair, brown eyes, a mustache and "a fuzzy chin beard." At five feet, eleven inches, he weighed 155 pounds. Most important for the court, Vanoni deemed Peters mentally incapable of assisting in his own defense.
Five residential treatment facilities in California specifically treat people with developmental disabilities, but as a criminal, Peters needed to be put into a secured facility. So the Redwood Coast Regional Center sent him to the only secured facility — Porterville Developmental Center, in Tulare County, 520 miles from Hoopa.
After six months, doctors at Porterville deemed him competent and sent him to a "licensed board and care facility," according to court records. (The records don't identify the facility.) In June 2005, the regional center asked the court to terminate his commitment and release him. It argued that Peters was no longer eligible for its services as he was not developmentally disabled. In doing so it contradicted Vanoni's report a year earlier and its own subsequent finding that Peters was eligible for its services based on his diagnoses of mild mental retardation.
"It is believed now that Mr. Peters' mental status at that time of RCRC's psychological evaluation while he was incarcerated affected the results of that testing," wrote Wendy Stout, an intensive services specialist for the regional center at that time. Plus, Stout noted, Peters had not caused trouble in the eight months he'd spent in residential treatment. In layman's terms, being in jail had made Hans Peters crazy, and that tainted the psychological evaluation.
In an interview this month, San Francisco forensic psychologist Paul Good said mental retardation is a "static condition" that doesn't change and can't be cured. And as far as the courts are concerned, a competent person understands the legal process, the roles of courtroom players, legal strategies and can work with an attorney in an effective way. A person can be competent in understanding the law, but that doesn't mean they are mentally healthy.
Five months after his release, however, his anger got the best of him again. In Nov. 2005, he went to a house to talk to a woman he'd been dating. When she said she didn't want to see him, he refused to leave. Her family tried to force him out and Peters reacted by pushing a 13-year-old boy. The boy fell and injured his back against a stool. Police issued an arrest warrant, charging Peters with misdemeanor cruelty to a child.
Back in jail, things got worse. In January 2006, correctional officer Steve Christian opened the door to Peters cell to get some janitorial items and Peters punched him in the face. When officers asked him why he did it he said, "Leave me the fuck alone. Dealing with the voices in the back of my head is hard enough, I don't need to listen to you as well."
Peters later expressed remorse and apologized for his sudden outburst at Christian. "A lot of things were messin' with my head," he said. "I feel bad. No one deserves to get punched."
Again, his lawyers questioned Peters' competency and Judge Christopher Wilson ordered another evaluation. During the two years that preceded his death, Peters, whom doctors said was mentally unable to assist in his own defense, appeared in court 25 times. Five different defense attorneys represented him and he faced 10 different deputy district attorneys and three different judges. It seemed as if Peters was the hat that everyone would pass but no one would wear.
The inability to get Peters the help he so obviously needed frustrated Judge Wilson. Over the next 18 months, Wilson would repeatedly order Peter's attorneys to get him into a local treatment program or a state hospital only to be told that no place would take him. For almost three months in the beginning of 2006, Peters sat in jail while Wilson waited for the California Department of Mental Health to determine if he qualified for conditional release. In February, Eureka clinical psychologist Michael M. Ramirez determined that Peters' was still incompetent to stand trial.
But in March, the Redwood Coast Regional Center again found Peters ineligible for their services. Meanwhile Atascadero rebuffed Wilson's order and refused to take Peters.
On Nov. 6 the court acknowledged that Peters was there too long. "I'd like to know when Napa's going to come get Mr. Peters," Wilson said in court. "They said they're going to reject him because he's mentally disabled. We sent him back to the regional center. They said he's not disabled. They're just playing games with us."
Finally on Dec. 4, 2006, almost a year after his arrest, Peters was transferred to Napa State Hospital. But again, the goal was only to make him competent enough to assist in his own defense, not to silence the voices in his head. He would spend two months there and when doctors deemed him competent, he was back in the jail.
The delays Peters went through are common for the mentally ill prisoners who fill the jail, said Humboldt County Deputy District Attorney Wesley Keat, Jr. in an interview in April of this year. "Those in jail have some kind of mental illness and jailers say the jail is a mental health facility," he said. " There are a lot of people in the County Jail waiting to be transferred to a mental health facility."
The problem is that the jail is not equipped to handle such problematic prisoners, said Brenda Godsey, public information officer for the Humboldt County Sheriffs Office. "We are not a mental health facility," she said.
Humboldt County isn't the only place with this problem. One study published in 2006 estimated that jails across the country house more than 94,000 people with severe mental illness. The Los Angeles Daily News reported in April that the psychiatric patients who fill most of the 1,000 beds in Los Angeles County's Twin Towers jail facilities have turned the jail into the largest mental institution west of the Mississippi. It cited data that show that statewide, California has just 6,285 beds for mentally ill patients or 17 for every 100,000 residents. Researchers said the state needs at least 12,200 more.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Reauthorization and Improvement Act of 2008. If passed by the Senate, it would provide grants for diversion programs and increase cooperation between the criminal justice and mental health systems.
At least 13 counties in California rely on special courts for mentally ill prisoners to ease the burden. These courts only accept criminal offenders with severe mental problems and dismiss charges after the offender commits to and completes an individualized program designed for their illness, most often one that involves a residential treatment facility. After a year of sobriety and being crime-free, the defendant attends a trial and the case is dismissed. They are then given job training and GED exam preparation.
In Gainesville, Ga., a mental health court entitled HELP (an acronym for Health, Empowerment, Linkage and Possibilities.) puts prisoners on a plan for success, which includes, among other things, getting a job and taking medications. According to an article in the Gainesville Times, prosecutors, defense attorneys, case managers, treatment providers and judges work together to ensure that the prisoners stay on the right path. They review each case in weekly meetings, and determine which ones progress and which ones seem to regress.
California voters tried to address the problem back in 2004 when they passed Proposition 63, also known as the Mental Health Services Act. The statute raised an additional 1 percent tax on the 30,000 state residents (1 percent of the state population) that make an annual income of over $1 million. By 2006, the statute generated about $730 million for mental health services in California. But the law did not specifically fund mental health courts. Mental health providers across the state, and in Humboldt County in particular, complain that much more funding is needed.
A new program known as STAR (Supervised Treatment After Release) started in Humboldt County on April 1, 2007. The goal of the program is to provide evidence-based treatment in treating seriously mentally ill offenders by coordinating mental health service providers, corrections, probation, the district attorney's office, defense attorneys and community/family advocates.
The STAR program only serves 25 offenders at a time, according to its website. Regardless, Peters may have been ineligible, as it does not take inmates considered a public safety threat.
Julie Ohnemus, mental health director of the Open Door Community Health Centers said that in the past five years she has seen a jump in the number of mentally ill patients. The Arcata clinic alone sees 4,000 such patients a month, and that means that counselors can see each patient for only about 15 minutes each. That's not enough time for a doctor to properly monitor a patient. But resources are limited. The Open Door network has a total of eight counselors for both Humboldt and Del Norte counties. That's forced family practitioners to act as psychological counselors.
Hans Peters did not go to an Open Door clinic. But Ohnemus said that the clinics see people like Peters every day, released from the jail and bound to return. That's because the jail releases prisoners who suffer from severe mental conditions without any medication, and without medication they are in no condition to get themselves the help they need. "That's wrong," she said. "There's no reason not to follow up," she said.
Robynne Lute has worked as a behavior health consultant at the Humboldt Open Door since 2004. She sees about 10 patients every day. They suffer from depression, anxiety, substance abuse and chronic pain. She has lost five patients to suicide and several others to drug overdoses. One female patient hanged herself while on a waiting list for county psychiatric services.
"People are not getting what they need," she said. The county has an intensive treatment program but it only has 12 beds for three counties. There is also an emergency treatment program that can keep someone under surveillance for 72 hours. But after that it refers them to other facilities and leaves it to the patient to follow through. Meanwhile, the shortage of beds means that only people who are very sick are admitted into the two programs. "We don't have a lot of services for people that fall in between."
Perhaps Hans Peters was doomed from the start. Although suicide is taboo in the Hoopa Valley Tribe as well as many Native American cultures, rates are high and rising. The Centers for Disease Control reported in 2005 that that among American Indians/Alaska Natives ages 15 to 34 years old, suicide is the second leading cause of death and the per capita rate of 21.4 per 100,000 people is 1.9 times higher than the national average for that age group. Native Americans are disproportionately represented in the Humboldt jail. On the day Peters hanged himself, the jail housed 47 Native American men accounting for 16 percent of the total jail population. Native Americans account for just six percent of the total population in Humboldt County according to a 2006 U.S. Census estimate.
If he could have been steered to an alternate fate, it would likely have had to happen early on. But deputy public defender Christina Allbright described current California law regarding minors and mental incompetency as a "huge black hole." She noted that Humboldt County has no facility to treat mentally incompetent juvenile offenders.
Some in the U.S. Congress are trying to bolster resources for Native Americans. The U.S. Senate passed the Indian Health Care Improvement Act in February. If passed by the House it would fund greater mental health services for tribes and could address the need for in-patient mental health treatment in Hoopa.
Hans Peters wanted to get treated. After Napa released him in March 2007 he told Judge Wilson that he hoped for a normal life. "I just want to go to my programs and take my medication and do good in life and get me a job, sir," he said.
His defense attorney, David Lee, argued that Peters deserved a chance at freedom. "He's served far more time in custody on all of these charges probably than anybody would have gotten at the onset," Lee told Wilson. "It's nobody's fault he was not able to handle the criminal proceedings for many, many, many, many months based on his mitigating mental condition."
Wilson was reluctant to allow Hans Peters to be released without adequate supervision. "If there's some form of decomposition, we're back to where we were," he said in court. "And that just cost Mr. Peters two years of his life."
The process took so long that Wilson released him three times during the two years to take care of personal business: Once to visit his brother, once to cash some checks and once to go to a dentist for a root canal.
In May 2007, Peters spent two days in Sempervirens Psychiatric Health Facility in Eureka, the only inpatient care facility in Humboldt County, while waiting for acceptance into a drug treatment program.
It's not clear exactly how long Peters spent outside confinement on the last go-around, but he was back in jail June 22, this time charged with false imprisonment and two counts of battery. Yet again, the court questioned his mental capability, ordered another psychological evaluation by Dr. Michael M. Ramirez, waited for a report from the mental conditional release program and ordered Peters recommitted to Napa State Hospital for recovery of trial competency.
According to a report from Deputy Coroner Charles Van Buskirk, Hans Peters did not want to return to Napa. Instead, in an attempt to prove mental competence, he had stopped taking his court-ordered medications. At 3:15 p.m. on Aug. 29, 2007, Peters fashioned a noose out of his bed sheet. Two officers found him hanging in his 7 1/2-by-11 foot jail cell. He had pushed the ends of the cloth strips through the small holes in a ventilation grate over his toilet, using a tool he had made by chewing on a spoon.
The officers tried to resuscitate him, but it is unclear if they were able to get a response from the body. At St. Joseph Hospital, doctors put him on life support but he never regained consciousness.
In ending his life, Peters put a stop to what had become an endless cycle: Arrest, temporary treatment, release and re-arrest. The problem is that the system expects mentally ill people like Peters, a man with the mentality of an 11-year-old boy, who suffered from paranoia and who was incapable of controlling his emotions, to get themselves the help they need.
Rebecca Porteous, a licensed clinical social worker, said she sees people come in and out of jail with recurring mental issues. When the jail releases mentally ill inmates, it instructs them to see a mental health professional. If they do that within the first two weeks, they will continue their medication. But not all do.
"It is still America," she said. "And people have free will."
By the HSU Journalism Department's Investigative Reporting class
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In January, journalism students from HSU, as part of an investigative reporting class taught by Assistant Professor Marcy Burstiner, set out to understand the intersection of the mental health and criminal justice systems in Humboldt County by investigating the death of one man: James Lee Peters, a Hoopa resident who committed suicide in the Humboldt County Jail last August. Over three months they intended to interview people who knew him as well as people who work in mental health and criminal justice. They were met with a wall of silence: Many people did not respond to repeated requests for information. People in the mental health field who did respond said they could not discuss his case because of privacy protections required under federal law. His lawyers argued that attorney-client privilege survives the death of a client. The Hoopa community, unused to anything but negative news, did not feel comfortable talking about Peters to the press.
The mental health system in Humboldt and across the state turned out to be a labyrinth they couldn't penetrate; instead of answering basic questions about standard procedures one agency after another bounced them from office to office. A public information officer at Atascadero State Hospital forced them to file a California Public Records Request just to find out how its trial competency program works.
So the students poured through records: Court minutes and files that are open to public inspection; birth, death and autopsy reports; court transcripts, case files released from the district attorney's office in response to another public records request and procedural reports and data from Atascadero. Their conclusion based on the records and interviews: The untimely death of James Lee Peters was both entirely preventable and inevitable. It reflected the inability of our mental health system to help people until it is too late, and the failure of the criminal justice system to handle the people who end up in the jails as a result.
The students involved in the project were: Chris Hoff, Karina Gonzalez, Matthew Barry, Matthew Hawk, Marc Kozachenko, Tatiana Cummings, Cassandra Hoisington, Melinda Spencer, Deunn Willis, Nicole Willens, Adrian Emery and Meghannraye Sutton.
James Lee Peters spent his 25th birthday last August behind the walls of the Humboldt County Jail, waiting to be taken to a state mental hospital. He spent his previous birthday much the same way. He wouldn't live to see the next. Instead, 10 days after he turned 25, Peters took the sheet off his bed, tore it into strips, tied them together and hanged himself. He would be on life support for eight days at St. Joseph Hospital before he would die of asphyxiation.
If Peters understood what he was doing when he ended his life, it might have been the only time he fully understood his actions. Complications at birth gave him learning disabilities and a low IQ. Throughout his life he needed mental health counseling but received little. He tended to lash out when he was angry and that repeatedly put him in trouble with the law. What began as small outbursts became increasingly violent, until the criminal justice system could no longer overlook the threat he represented. Instead, as his criminal record piled up, the Humboldt County Superior Court bounced him between a variety of mental health facilities, but only to make him competent enough to stand trial.
But this story doesn't stop with Peters. Because the tragedy is that we fill our jail, and jails across the state and country, with people just like him. There are alternatives, but not in Humboldt County.
"This community treats dogs better then the mentally ill," said District Attorney Paul Gallegos. "My hope is that we [would] treat our mentally ill better than we treat a dog."
What little we know about James Lee Peters plays out through documents obtained under the California Public Records Act. Everyone he interacted with, from teachers, police officers, lawyers, doctors, counselors, probation officers and jail guards refused to speak about him or his particular case for this story. Neither would members of his family, who still grieve over his death and who intend to file suit against any party they can find responsible. As of yet, no lawsuit has been filed.
Here's what we do know. James Lee Peters, nicknamed Hans, was a Yurok Indian from Hoopa who entered the world much the same way he would leave it: gasping for air.
At birth Peters was without oxygen for several minutes. That manifested into developmental and cognitive problems. Jamie Lynn Solano gave birth to Peters at age 16; he was the first of her three children. His biological father did not acknowledge him and the first years of his life weren't easy. He suffered physical abuse and several members of his family battled with drug and alcohol problems. Sometime in his childhood Peters saw a counselor briefly in Hoopa but stopped because the family feared he would be taken from his mother. Around age five, social workers took him from his mother and he went to live with his grandmother Joyce Croix, whom Peters credited with raising him
If you drive east on Highway 299 and head north on Highway 96 through dense redwood forests, you will descend into the Hoopa Valley. Here a Ray's Food and the Lucky Bear Casino stand against a backdrop of jagged mountains. Nearby, the Trinity River flows past grounds where Hoopa residents still hold ancient healing and renewal ceremonies, such as the sacred Jump Dance and Boat Dance.
With about 2,600 people on 144 square miles, Hoopa is at once the state's largest Indian reservation and a small town where everyone knows everyone. The sovereign nation is separated from the rest of the county by both distance and culture. The tribal government administers health services on the reservation, including some drug, alcohol and mental health treatment, but offers no residential treatment facility. It educates students in conjunction with the Klamath-Trinity Joint Union School District.
Peters had a difficult time learning, so he was put in special education classes at Hoopa Valley Elementary. His fourth-grade yearbook picture shows a dark-haired boy with a big smile. The picture of him in fifth grade shows an 11-year-old boy standing straight and looking proud. (Few of the people who knew Peters at that age were willing to speak of him on the record. Most of what follows comes from reports written later by officials and psychologists who interacted with him at various stages in his journey through the criminal justice system.)
In the ninth grade, his grandmother died. Peters later said that that period in his life was emotionally difficult for him, and as a result he had trouble in school. He was involved in three physical fights, was caught with marijuana, and was expelled.
At 14, psychological evaluations determined that his verbal comprehension was "particularly impaired." He continued his education at Captain John Continuation High School in Hoopa, and was shuffled between the homes of various members of his extended family. But he lacked a primary guardian.
The lack of guidance took its toll. At 16, he picked up a rock and threw it at a teacher's car, cracking the windshield. Police charged him with battery of a school employee and he served 60 days in Juvenile Hall. In throwing that rock he threw himself into the Humboldt County criminal justice system and he would never climb out of it.
The Hoopa Valley Tribal Police station has no holding cell. Each time a suspect is arrested police drive him 60 miles to the county jail in Eureka. Taking someone that far for relatively minor crimes adds a "traumatic element" to an already traumatic situation, said Graham Hill, chief of the Rio Dell police department. While Rio Dell sits at the opposite end of the county, his department also lacks a holding cell. The drive from Rio Dell to Eureka is just 25 miles, but that extra trauma, he said, can do more harm in the long run for prisoners who are mentally ill. The geographic distance also makes it difficult for family to visit prisoners in the county jail.
Peters soon added two more infractions — criminal threat of assault and battery and assault with a deadly weapon — to his juvenile record. About that time, he landed his first and only job, that of a choker setter for Three Star Logging Company, a typical entry level job in the logging business.
As a choker setter, he would likely have trudged up hillsides machines could not access, to wrap a cable under and around a log, forming a noose so that they could be pulled up to a place where they can be put on a truck. It is not an easy job, said Robert VanNatta, part owner of a 30-year-old logging business in Apiary, Ore.
While VanNatta didn't employ Peters or know of him, he could explain the type of work Peters likely had. "You cannot exaggerate the difficulty and danger of choker setting," VanNatta said. After securing the noose, the choker setter must quickly get away or risk getting crushed from rolling logs. Peters liked manual labor, but quit after he was denied a $1.25 an hour raise. That marked the end of his employment and education.
Unable to control his anger or impulses, his offenses became increasingly serious. As an adult numerous evaluations found that he suffered from Paranoid Personality Disorder, mild mental retardation and schizophrenia. At 24, his IQ was 67, which is the equivalent to that of an average 11-year-old child. Only 2.3 percent of the population possess IQs lower than 70.
His trouble deepened in 2001. Between October of that year and August 2002, he would be arrested five times. In two of those cases he assaulted women. In one he threatened a woman with great bodily injury. As a result of those arrests, he was sentenced to a 52-week batterer's program that he would never complete, and three years probation. When released, he became a statistic.
Megan Gotcher was Hans Peters' probation officer and is now a senior officer for the Humboldt County Probation Department. There are more than 50 officers in the county, but each officer is responsible for 60-100 probationers at a time.
"If you have a hundred cases, it is hard," Gotcher said. "You deal with searches, subpoenas and home contracts. Sometimes you just have to put out the fire." Probation officers work closely with Hoopa Human Services, but are not trained in mental health services.
The Humboldt County Superior Court questioned Peters' mental health in Dec. 2001 and placed him on two years of conditional release under a program run by the county's Department of Health and Family Services. It was responsible for providing Peters with treatment and supervision while he lived in his community.
But whatever supervision it gave him wasn't enough. In Aug. 2003, police arrested him for pushing his mother and assaulting a friend of hers with a shovel, sending him to the hospital. Around that time a car accident left him with major injuries. Peters would later tell a probation officer that after the accident, he more easily lost his temper and experienced suicidal feelings.
That January, police arrested him for trespassing and vandalism. A month later, they arrested him again for attacking a man with an iron. He was sentenced to three more years probation, but this time the court ordered him to enroll with the Redwood Coast Regional Center, a private, non-profit referral agency for the treatment of people with developmental disabilities, and to participate in a counseling program run by psychologist Karl Fisher through the Hoopa Valley Tribe's Division of Human Services. While waiting for the regional center to evaluate him, he attacked an inmate and in another incident was charged with attacking a custodial officer.
Finally, in April 2004, Eureka clinical psychologist Otto Vanoni evaluated Peters and suggested that his problem was medical rather than criminal and that he belonged in a medical facility rather than a jail.
Peters was housed in isolation during the time of the evaluation, which worsened his condition, Vanoni wrote. "A failure to move him from solitary confinement and a continuation of jailing will only lead to further decomposition of functioning," Vanoni wrote. Vanoni described Peters at the time as having short brown hair, brown eyes, a mustache and "a fuzzy chin beard." At five feet, eleven inches, he weighed 155 pounds. Most important for the court, Vanoni deemed Peters mentally incapable of assisting in his own defense.
Five residential treatment facilities in California specifically treat people with developmental disabilities, but as a criminal, Peters needed to be put into a secured facility. So the Redwood Coast Regional Center sent him to the only secured facility — Porterville Developmental Center, in Tulare County, 520 miles from Hoopa.
After six months, doctors at Porterville deemed him competent and sent him to a "licensed board and care facility," according to court records. (The records don't identify the facility.) In June 2005, the regional center asked the court to terminate his commitment and release him. It argued that Peters was no longer eligible for its services as he was not developmentally disabled. In doing so it contradicted Vanoni's report a year earlier and its own subsequent finding that Peters was eligible for its services based on his diagnoses of mild mental retardation.
"It is believed now that Mr. Peters' mental status at that time of RCRC's psychological evaluation while he was incarcerated affected the results of that testing," wrote Wendy Stout, an intensive services specialist for the regional center at that time. Plus, Stout noted, Peters had not caused trouble in the eight months he'd spent in residential treatment. In layman's terms, being in jail had made Hans Peters crazy, and that tainted the psychological evaluation.
In an interview this month, San Francisco forensic psychologist Paul Good said mental retardation is a "static condition" that doesn't change and can't be cured. And as far as the courts are concerned, a competent person understands the legal process, the roles of courtroom players, legal strategies and can work with an attorney in an effective way. A person can be competent in understanding the law, but that doesn't mean they are mentally healthy.
Five months after his release, however, his anger got the best of him again. In Nov. 2005, he went to a house to talk to a woman he'd been dating. When she said she didn't want to see him, he refused to leave. Her family tried to force him out and Peters reacted by pushing a 13-year-old boy. The boy fell and injured his back against a stool. Police issued an arrest warrant, charging Peters with misdemeanor cruelty to a child.
Back in jail, things got worse. In January 2006, correctional officer Steve Christian opened the door to Peters cell to get some janitorial items and Peters punched him in the face. When officers asked him why he did it he said, "Leave me the fuck alone. Dealing with the voices in the back of my head is hard enough, I don't need to listen to you as well."
Peters later expressed remorse and apologized for his sudden outburst at Christian. "A lot of things were messin' with my head," he said. "I feel bad. No one deserves to get punched."
Again, his lawyers questioned Peters' competency and Judge Christopher Wilson ordered another evaluation. During the two years that preceded his death, Peters, whom doctors said was mentally unable to assist in his own defense, appeared in court 25 times. Five different defense attorneys represented him and he faced 10 different deputy district attorneys and three different judges. It seemed as if Peters was the hat that everyone would pass but no one would wear.
The inability to get Peters the help he so obviously needed frustrated Judge Wilson. Over the next 18 months, Wilson would repeatedly order Peter's attorneys to get him into a local treatment program or a state hospital only to be told that no place would take him. For almost three months in the beginning of 2006, Peters sat in jail while Wilson waited for the California Department of Mental Health to determine if he qualified for conditional release. In February, Eureka clinical psychologist Michael M. Ramirez determined that Peters' was still incompetent to stand trial.
But in March, the Redwood Coast Regional Center again found Peters ineligible for their services. Meanwhile Atascadero rebuffed Wilson's order and refused to take Peters.
On Nov. 6 the court acknowledged that Peters was there too long. "I'd like to know when Napa's going to come get Mr. Peters," Wilson said in court. "They said they're going to reject him because he's mentally disabled. We sent him back to the regional center. They said he's not disabled. They're just playing games with us."
Finally on Dec. 4, 2006, almost a year after his arrest, Peters was transferred to Napa State Hospital. But again, the goal was only to make him competent enough to assist in his own defense, not to silence the voices in his head. He would spend two months there and when doctors deemed him competent, he was back in the jail.
The delays Peters went through are common for the mentally ill prisoners who fill the jail, said Humboldt County Deputy District Attorney Wesley Keat, Jr. in an interview in April of this year. "Those in jail have some kind of mental illness and jailers say the jail is a mental health facility," he said. " There are a lot of people in the County Jail waiting to be transferred to a mental health facility."
The problem is that the jail is not equipped to handle such problematic prisoners, said Brenda Godsey, public information officer for the Humboldt County Sheriffs Office. "We are not a mental health facility," she said.
Humboldt County isn't the only place with this problem. One study published in 2006 estimated that jails across the country house more than 94,000 people with severe mental illness. The Los Angeles Daily News reported in April that the psychiatric patients who fill most of the 1,000 beds in Los Angeles County's Twin Towers jail facilities have turned the jail into the largest mental institution west of the Mississippi. It cited data that show that statewide, California has just 6,285 beds for mentally ill patients or 17 for every 100,000 residents. Researchers said the state needs at least 12,200 more.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Reauthorization and Improvement Act of 2008. If passed by the Senate, it would provide grants for diversion programs and increase cooperation between the criminal justice and mental health systems.
At least 13 counties in California rely on special courts for mentally ill prisoners to ease the burden. These courts only accept criminal offenders with severe mental problems and dismiss charges after the offender commits to and completes an individualized program designed for their illness, most often one that involves a residential treatment facility. After a year of sobriety and being crime-free, the defendant attends a trial and the case is dismissed. They are then given job training and GED exam preparation.
In Gainesville, Ga., a mental health court entitled HELP (an acronym for Health, Empowerment, Linkage and Possibilities.) puts prisoners on a plan for success, which includes, among other things, getting a job and taking medications. According to an article in the Gainesville Times, prosecutors, defense attorneys, case managers, treatment providers and judges work together to ensure that the prisoners stay on the right path. They review each case in weekly meetings, and determine which ones progress and which ones seem to regress.
California voters tried to address the problem back in 2004 when they passed Proposition 63, also known as the Mental Health Services Act. The statute raised an additional 1 percent tax on the 30,000 state residents (1 percent of the state population) that make an annual income of over $1 million. By 2006, the statute generated about $730 million for mental health services in California. But the law did not specifically fund mental health courts. Mental health providers across the state, and in Humboldt County in particular, complain that much more funding is needed.
A new program known as STAR (Supervised Treatment After Release) started in Humboldt County on April 1, 2007. The goal of the program is to provide evidence-based treatment in treating seriously mentally ill offenders by coordinating mental health service providers, corrections, probation, the district attorney's office, defense attorneys and community/family advocates.
The STAR program only serves 25 offenders at a time, according to its website. Regardless, Peters may have been ineligible, as it does not take inmates considered a public safety threat.
Julie Ohnemus, mental health director of the Open Door Community Health Centers said that in the past five years she has seen a jump in the number of mentally ill patients. The Arcata clinic alone sees 4,000 such patients a month, and that means that counselors can see each patient for only about 15 minutes each. That's not enough time for a doctor to properly monitor a patient. But resources are limited. The Open Door network has a total of eight counselors for both Humboldt and Del Norte counties. That's forced family practitioners to act as psychological counselors.
Hans Peters did not go to an Open Door clinic. But Ohnemus said that the clinics see people like Peters every day, released from the jail and bound to return. That's because the jail releases prisoners who suffer from severe mental conditions without any medication, and without medication they are in no condition to get themselves the help they need. "That's wrong," she said. "There's no reason not to follow up," she said.
Robynne Lute has worked as a behavior health consultant at the Humboldt Open Door since 2004. She sees about 10 patients every day. They suffer from depression, anxiety, substance abuse and chronic pain. She has lost five patients to suicide and several others to drug overdoses. One female patient hanged herself while on a waiting list for county psychiatric services.
"People are not getting what they need," she said. The county has an intensive treatment program but it only has 12 beds for three counties. There is also an emergency treatment program that can keep someone under surveillance for 72 hours. But after that it refers them to other facilities and leaves it to the patient to follow through. Meanwhile, the shortage of beds means that only people who are very sick are admitted into the two programs. "We don't have a lot of services for people that fall in between."
Perhaps Hans Peters was doomed from the start. Although suicide is taboo in the Hoopa Valley Tribe as well as many Native American cultures, rates are high and rising. The Centers for Disease Control reported in 2005 that that among American Indians/Alaska Natives ages 15 to 34 years old, suicide is the second leading cause of death and the per capita rate of 21.4 per 100,000 people is 1.9 times higher than the national average for that age group. Native Americans are disproportionately represented in the Humboldt jail. On the day Peters hanged himself, the jail housed 47 Native American men accounting for 16 percent of the total jail population. Native Americans account for just six percent of the total population in Humboldt County according to a 2006 U.S. Census estimate.
If he could have been steered to an alternate fate, it would likely have had to happen early on. But deputy public defender Christina Allbright described current California law regarding minors and mental incompetency as a "huge black hole." She noted that Humboldt County has no facility to treat mentally incompetent juvenile offenders.
Some in the U.S. Congress are trying to bolster resources for Native Americans. The U.S. Senate passed the Indian Health Care Improvement Act in February. If passed by the House it would fund greater mental health services for tribes and could address the need for in-patient mental health treatment in Hoopa.
Hans Peters wanted to get treated. After Napa released him in March 2007 he told Judge Wilson that he hoped for a normal life. "I just want to go to my programs and take my medication and do good in life and get me a job, sir," he said.
His defense attorney, David Lee, argued that Peters deserved a chance at freedom. "He's served far more time in custody on all of these charges probably than anybody would have gotten at the onset," Lee told Wilson. "It's nobody's fault he was not able to handle the criminal proceedings for many, many, many, many months based on his mitigating mental condition."
Wilson was reluctant to allow Hans Peters to be released without adequate supervision. "If there's some form of decomposition, we're back to where we were," he said in court. "And that just cost Mr. Peters two years of his life."
The process took so long that Wilson released him three times during the two years to take care of personal business: Once to visit his brother, once to cash some checks and once to go to a dentist for a root canal.
In May 2007, Peters spent two days in Sempervirens Psychiatric Health Facility in Eureka, the only inpatient care facility in Humboldt County, while waiting for acceptance into a drug treatment program.
It's not clear exactly how long Peters spent outside confinement on the last go-around, but he was back in jail June 22, this time charged with false imprisonment and two counts of battery. Yet again, the court questioned his mental capability, ordered another psychological evaluation by Dr. Michael M. Ramirez, waited for a report from the mental conditional release program and ordered Peters recommitted to Napa State Hospital for recovery of trial competency.
According to a report from Deputy Coroner Charles Van Buskirk, Hans Peters did not want to return to Napa. Instead, in an attempt to prove mental competence, he had stopped taking his court-ordered medications. At 3:15 p.m. on Aug. 29, 2007, Peters fashioned a noose out of his bed sheet. Two officers found him hanging in his 7 1/2-by-11 foot jail cell. He had pushed the ends of the cloth strips through the small holes in a ventilation grate over his toilet, using a tool he had made by chewing on a spoon.
The officers tried to resuscitate him, but it is unclear if they were able to get a response from the body. At St. Joseph Hospital, doctors put him on life support but he never regained consciousness.
In ending his life, Peters put a stop to what had become an endless cycle: Arrest, temporary treatment, release and re-arrest. The problem is that the system expects mentally ill people like Peters, a man with the mentality of an 11-year-old boy, who suffered from paranoia and who was incapable of controlling his emotions, to get themselves the help they need.
Rebecca Porteous, a licensed clinical social worker, said she sees people come in and out of jail with recurring mental issues. When the jail releases mentally ill inmates, it instructs them to see a mental health professional. If they do that within the first two weeks, they will continue their medication. But not all do.
"It is still America," she said. "And people have free will."
Congress Passes Rep. Napolitano's Mental Health Month Resolution
16 May 2008
The U.S. House of Representatives passed H. Res. 1134 today, a resolution introduced by Rep. Grace F. Napolitano (D-Norwalk) recognizing May as Mental Health Month.
"An estimated 57 million Americans suffer from diagnosable, treatable mental illnesses," noted Rep. Napolitano. "This number is growing because of the epidemic of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder among veterans returning from Iraq."
"Only one in three Americans suffering from mental illness receives treatment. This statistic is unconscionable and must do more to improve access to critical services and to remove the stigma associated with seeking help," she added. "America's health practitioners, mental health organizations and community leaders - including those in faith-based communities - should use this opportunity to promote awareness and reduce and eliminate the stigma of treatment; ensure access to appropriate services; and support an improved quality of life for those living with mental illness."
The resolution includes several stunning facts about the cost and scope of the issue:
- 20 percent of the U.S. population has a diagnosable, treatable mental disorder, but only one in three receives any treatment.
- Approximately one in five children has an early, diagnosable mental disorder
- Untreated mental illness cost businesses and the American economy over $150 billion last year in lost productivity and absenteeism.
- More than one in five of our troops suffer from major depression or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
- More than half of all prison and jail inmates suffer from mental illness.
"Mental illnesses are diagnosable and treatable," concluded Napolitano. "Congress must act to ensure parity in treatment by investing in effective mental health programs that will lead to healthier and more productive lives for millions of Americans."
Rep. Napolitano is co-chair of the House Mental Health Caucus and a leading spokeswoman for mental health issues.
http://www.napolitano.house.gov
The U.S. House of Representatives passed H. Res. 1134 today, a resolution introduced by Rep. Grace F. Napolitano (D-Norwalk) recognizing May as Mental Health Month.
"An estimated 57 million Americans suffer from diagnosable, treatable mental illnesses," noted Rep. Napolitano. "This number is growing because of the epidemic of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder among veterans returning from Iraq."
"Only one in three Americans suffering from mental illness receives treatment. This statistic is unconscionable and must do more to improve access to critical services and to remove the stigma associated with seeking help," she added. "America's health practitioners, mental health organizations and community leaders - including those in faith-based communities - should use this opportunity to promote awareness and reduce and eliminate the stigma of treatment; ensure access to appropriate services; and support an improved quality of life for those living with mental illness."
The resolution includes several stunning facts about the cost and scope of the issue:
- 20 percent of the U.S. population has a diagnosable, treatable mental disorder, but only one in three receives any treatment.
- Approximately one in five children has an early, diagnosable mental disorder
- Untreated mental illness cost businesses and the American economy over $150 billion last year in lost productivity and absenteeism.
- More than one in five of our troops suffer from major depression or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
- More than half of all prison and jail inmates suffer from mental illness.
"Mental illnesses are diagnosable and treatable," concluded Napolitano. "Congress must act to ensure parity in treatment by investing in effective mental health programs that will lead to healthier and more productive lives for millions of Americans."
Rep. Napolitano is co-chair of the House Mental Health Caucus and a leading spokeswoman for mental health issues.
http://www.napolitano.house.gov
Friday, March 28, 2008
Disorderly conduct
A little-known but widespread mental illness afflicts 4 million Americans and their families.
Today's editorial begins with a quiz — and ends with a mystery.
A single mental illness afflicts some 4 million Americans, between 1 percent and 2 percent of the population. It accounts for, or figures in, 20 percent of all psychiatric hospital admissions. More Americans have this illness than suffer from schizophrenia. A third of all young Americans who commit suicide first show symptoms of this illness.
Its name? Borderline personality disorder. Given the disorder's presence in society and the harm it does to so many lives, it is difficult to comprehend how the public and the mental health professions can know so little about it and how to treat it.
The figures above are supplied by the National Education Alliance for Borderline Personality Disorder, the organization founded to educate families, patients and care-givers about this devastating and tragic illness. The alliance, the Nation's Voice on Mental Illness and the Menninger Clinic are sponsoring a conference on new clinical approaches to the disorder, to be held Friday at Baylor College of Medicine in the Texas Medical Center.
Sufferers of BPD can't control their emotions, impulses and relationships. Many are unemployable. Of the men in prison, 12 percent have BPD, as do 28 percent of women inmates.
People with BPD usually suffer from other illnesses — depression and drug addiction, for instance — both mental and physical. A 30-year-old woman with BPD typically has the medical profile of a woman in her 60s, according to the alliance.
As yet, there is no medication approved for the treatment of BPD, but specific counseling therapies and techniques have proved effective. Those treatments are the subject of Friday's conference in Houston.
In May 2003, the Menninger Clinic moved to Houston from Topeka, Kan. It filled a gap in the clinical skills of the Texas Medical Center, and great things were expected for Houston in the field of mental health. Friday's conference is an example of the role Houston can play in increasing Americans' knowledge of mental illness and compassion for those it afflicts.
Apart from its stealth profile and difficulty in treating it, borderline personality disorder has another mystery connected to it: For some unstated reason, the Texas Legislature, by law, forbids local organizations such as the Mental Health and Mental Retardation Authority of Harris County from providing continuing treatment to BPD sufferers, except for those who also suffer from major depression.
If the aim is to save the state's taxpayers money, the result could hardly be further from it. What the state might save on counseling and management of BPD cases, it loses in lost productivity, higher jail costs and heavier burden on the general health care delivery system — a burden borne by employers and taxpayers.
Perhaps before the next session of the Legislature, one of its members will learn more about borderline personality disorder — from attending a conference or reading —and act constructively on that knowledge.
Today's editorial begins with a quiz — and ends with a mystery.
A single mental illness afflicts some 4 million Americans, between 1 percent and 2 percent of the population. It accounts for, or figures in, 20 percent of all psychiatric hospital admissions. More Americans have this illness than suffer from schizophrenia. A third of all young Americans who commit suicide first show symptoms of this illness.
Its name? Borderline personality disorder. Given the disorder's presence in society and the harm it does to so many lives, it is difficult to comprehend how the public and the mental health professions can know so little about it and how to treat it.
The figures above are supplied by the National Education Alliance for Borderline Personality Disorder, the organization founded to educate families, patients and care-givers about this devastating and tragic illness. The alliance, the Nation's Voice on Mental Illness and the Menninger Clinic are sponsoring a conference on new clinical approaches to the disorder, to be held Friday at Baylor College of Medicine in the Texas Medical Center.
Sufferers of BPD can't control their emotions, impulses and relationships. Many are unemployable. Of the men in prison, 12 percent have BPD, as do 28 percent of women inmates.
People with BPD usually suffer from other illnesses — depression and drug addiction, for instance — both mental and physical. A 30-year-old woman with BPD typically has the medical profile of a woman in her 60s, according to the alliance.
As yet, there is no medication approved for the treatment of BPD, but specific counseling therapies and techniques have proved effective. Those treatments are the subject of Friday's conference in Houston.
In May 2003, the Menninger Clinic moved to Houston from Topeka, Kan. It filled a gap in the clinical skills of the Texas Medical Center, and great things were expected for Houston in the field of mental health. Friday's conference is an example of the role Houston can play in increasing Americans' knowledge of mental illness and compassion for those it afflicts.
Apart from its stealth profile and difficulty in treating it, borderline personality disorder has another mystery connected to it: For some unstated reason, the Texas Legislature, by law, forbids local organizations such as the Mental Health and Mental Retardation Authority of Harris County from providing continuing treatment to BPD sufferers, except for those who also suffer from major depression.
If the aim is to save the state's taxpayers money, the result could hardly be further from it. What the state might save on counseling and management of BPD cases, it loses in lost productivity, higher jail costs and heavier burden on the general health care delivery system — a burden borne by employers and taxpayers.
Perhaps before the next session of the Legislature, one of its members will learn more about borderline personality disorder — from attending a conference or reading —and act constructively on that knowledge.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Second Chance Act Improves Mental Health Services For Prisoners, USA
14 Mar 2008
The American Psychiatric Association applauds recent Congressional efforts led by Rep. Danny Davis, D-Ill., to improve treatment for the large number of people with mental illnesses and substance use disorders who are currently incarcerated in U.S. jails and prisons.
The U.S. Senate passed the Second Chance Act (H.R. 1593) this week by unanimous consent. The U.S. House of Representatives passed the legislation last fall. The legislation would provide transitional assistance to ex-offenders in an effort to reduce a return to alcohol abuse. Additionally, the legislation would extend and provide a full continuum of care for treatment of substance use disorders and improve mental health screening and treatment.
"It is a national tragedy that jails and prisons have become the primary mental health care facilities in the United States today," said APA President Carolyn Robinowitz, M.D. "This bi-partisan action represents significant steps forward in improving access to mental health services and substance abuse treatment programs for those incarcerated within the prison system."
According to a 2006 report by the U.S. Department of Justice, entitled "Mental Health Problems of Prison and Jail Inmates," more than half of the population incarcerated in U.S. prisons and jails - including 56 percent of state prisoners, 45 percent of federal prisoners and 64 percent of local jail inmates - were found to have a mental illness. Many of these inmates suffer from treatable disorders such as major depression, bipolar disorder and substance use disorder.
"People with mental illness, left untreated, can develop symptoms and behaviors that lead to their arrest and incarceration," Robinowitz said. "Treatment can help prevent incarceration. Improving funding and cooperative programs between mental health care professionals and correctional agencies is a step in the right direction."
About the American Psychiatric Association
The American Psychiatric Association is a national medical specialty society whose more than 38,000 physician members specialize in diagnosis, treatment, prevention and research of mental illnesses including substance use disorders. Visit the APA at http://www.psych.org and http://www.HealthyMinds.org.
The American Psychiatric Association applauds recent Congressional efforts led by Rep. Danny Davis, D-Ill., to improve treatment for the large number of people with mental illnesses and substance use disorders who are currently incarcerated in U.S. jails and prisons.
The U.S. Senate passed the Second Chance Act (H.R. 1593) this week by unanimous consent. The U.S. House of Representatives passed the legislation last fall. The legislation would provide transitional assistance to ex-offenders in an effort to reduce a return to alcohol abuse. Additionally, the legislation would extend and provide a full continuum of care for treatment of substance use disorders and improve mental health screening and treatment.
"It is a national tragedy that jails and prisons have become the primary mental health care facilities in the United States today," said APA President Carolyn Robinowitz, M.D. "This bi-partisan action represents significant steps forward in improving access to mental health services and substance abuse treatment programs for those incarcerated within the prison system."
According to a 2006 report by the U.S. Department of Justice, entitled "Mental Health Problems of Prison and Jail Inmates," more than half of the population incarcerated in U.S. prisons and jails - including 56 percent of state prisoners, 45 percent of federal prisoners and 64 percent of local jail inmates - were found to have a mental illness. Many of these inmates suffer from treatable disorders such as major depression, bipolar disorder and substance use disorder.
"People with mental illness, left untreated, can develop symptoms and behaviors that lead to their arrest and incarceration," Robinowitz said. "Treatment can help prevent incarceration. Improving funding and cooperative programs between mental health care professionals and correctional agencies is a step in the right direction."
About the American Psychiatric Association
The American Psychiatric Association is a national medical specialty society whose more than 38,000 physician members specialize in diagnosis, treatment, prevention and research of mental illnesses including substance use disorders. Visit the APA at http://www.psych.org and http://www.HealthyMinds.org.
Friday, January 25, 2008
How many jails can the country actually hold?
By David Webb - The Rare Reporter
Jan 24, 2008, 22:22
Maybe more thought should be given to deterring crime
Every morning as I head for work I pass the construction site of the new south tower of the Dallas County jail complex at Industrial Boulevard and Commerce Street.
It never fails to give me the creeps.
Dallas County officials tout the new building, which is scheduled for completion by January 2009, as a long, overdue improvement. The new addition to the Lou Sterrett Justice Center will house 2,304 prisoners in a total of 36 pods of 64 inmates each, according to Dallas County Judge Jim Foster’s January 2008 newsletter, Issue 1, of what he plans to be a regular publication by his office.
Each pod will have a detention supervising office, and each floor will have medical exam facilities. It will replace two existing jails that operate at offsite locations, eliminating the need to transfer prisoners to and from the county complex, which also includes the Frank Crowley Court Building.
The price tag for the new jail — $62 million — an astronomical sum that will undoubtedly rise before completion.
Unfortunately for me, when I look at the construction site I don’t see progress in motion. What I see is an ugly, intimidating structure that will be used to warehouse people who have lost their way in life.
To me it is a grim reminder of how badly society has failed the disadvantaged — poverty-stricken children and the mentally ill to name a couple of examples.
Rather than using our resources to intervene in the lives of children who suffer from poverty and neglect and are often the victim of crimes themselves, we are using it to build jails and prisons where they can be locked away when they reach an age where rehabilitation is — if not impossible — highly unlikely. Poverty and mental illness are inextricably linked to crime, and we are using our resources to punish people instead of trying to help them overcome their disadvantages.
The criminal justice system has become an enormous economic machine, providing profits for everyone from the construction worker at the site of the new jail to the judges sitting on the benches in the courtrooms who will decide the fates of the inhabitants of the new structure — not to mention the battalions of police officers on the street who are needed to inject people into the system. The sheer number of employees and entrepreneurs engaged in the operation of the criminal justice system is mind boggling.
The truth is you couldn’t dismantle it without throwing the country into an economic crisis.
I don’t have an answer for this conundrum, nor is it a unique observation. A lawyer who was involved in social justice issues first brought it to my attention years ago when the Lou Sterret Justice Center was a new building. Since then, the problem has gotten only worse.
What I’d like to see now is for the politicians and officials my local and federal taxes help employ searching for different solutions than merely locking people up for various periods of time to keep them out of trouble. Surely, there’s a limit to how many jails and prisons can be built.
I’m all for law and order and I understand safe and humane facilities must be maintained for detaining criminals, but I’d far rather see my taxes being spent to feed and house children, the elderly, the mentally ill and others who are helpless.
Jail is not the place for that.
Maybe that would be a good topic for a story in Foster’s newsletter — what he thinks could be done to prevent people from becoming criminals rather than him citing the construction of a new jail and the hiring of new jail guards as accomplishments in 2007.
It’s just a thought.
E-mail webb@dallasvoice.com
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition January 25, 2008
Jan 24, 2008, 22:22
Maybe more thought should be given to deterring crime
Every morning as I head for work I pass the construction site of the new south tower of the Dallas County jail complex at Industrial Boulevard and Commerce Street.
It never fails to give me the creeps.
Dallas County officials tout the new building, which is scheduled for completion by January 2009, as a long, overdue improvement. The new addition to the Lou Sterrett Justice Center will house 2,304 prisoners in a total of 36 pods of 64 inmates each, according to Dallas County Judge Jim Foster’s January 2008 newsletter, Issue 1, of what he plans to be a regular publication by his office.
Each pod will have a detention supervising office, and each floor will have medical exam facilities. It will replace two existing jails that operate at offsite locations, eliminating the need to transfer prisoners to and from the county complex, which also includes the Frank Crowley Court Building.
The price tag for the new jail — $62 million — an astronomical sum that will undoubtedly rise before completion.
Unfortunately for me, when I look at the construction site I don’t see progress in motion. What I see is an ugly, intimidating structure that will be used to warehouse people who have lost their way in life.
To me it is a grim reminder of how badly society has failed the disadvantaged — poverty-stricken children and the mentally ill to name a couple of examples.
Rather than using our resources to intervene in the lives of children who suffer from poverty and neglect and are often the victim of crimes themselves, we are using it to build jails and prisons where they can be locked away when they reach an age where rehabilitation is — if not impossible — highly unlikely. Poverty and mental illness are inextricably linked to crime, and we are using our resources to punish people instead of trying to help them overcome their disadvantages.
The criminal justice system has become an enormous economic machine, providing profits for everyone from the construction worker at the site of the new jail to the judges sitting on the benches in the courtrooms who will decide the fates of the inhabitants of the new structure — not to mention the battalions of police officers on the street who are needed to inject people into the system. The sheer number of employees and entrepreneurs engaged in the operation of the criminal justice system is mind boggling.
The truth is you couldn’t dismantle it without throwing the country into an economic crisis.
I don’t have an answer for this conundrum, nor is it a unique observation. A lawyer who was involved in social justice issues first brought it to my attention years ago when the Lou Sterret Justice Center was a new building. Since then, the problem has gotten only worse.
What I’d like to see now is for the politicians and officials my local and federal taxes help employ searching for different solutions than merely locking people up for various periods of time to keep them out of trouble. Surely, there’s a limit to how many jails and prisons can be built.
I’m all for law and order and I understand safe and humane facilities must be maintained for detaining criminals, but I’d far rather see my taxes being spent to feed and house children, the elderly, the mentally ill and others who are helpless.
Jail is not the place for that.
Maybe that would be a good topic for a story in Foster’s newsletter — what he thinks could be done to prevent people from becoming criminals rather than him citing the construction of a new jail and the hiring of new jail guards as accomplishments in 2007.
It’s just a thought.
E-mail webb@dallasvoice.com
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition January 25, 2008
Mentally ill said to need treatment, not prison
Thursday, January 24, 2008
By Pat Shellenbarger
The Grand Rapids Press
With the state Corrections Department gobbling up more than $2 billion a year -- one-fifth the state's budget -- a statewide coalition of judges, police, social service officials and others say there is a better way to spend taxpayers' money -- treat the mentally ill rather than lock them up.
Citing what it called "a growing statewide crisis," the new group, called the Michigan Partners in Crisis, today released a list of six initiatives it said would improve treatment of the mentally ill, reduce the state's prison population, save money and lower the crime rate.
"It's a wiser investment of state dollars," said Michael Reagan, a member of the coalition's advisory board and president of the nonprofit Proaction Behavioral Health Alliance, based in Grand Rapids.
Besides, he said, "It's the humane thing to do, and it makes our communities safer."
While no recent figures are available, coalition members believe more than half the inmates in Michigan's prisons and jails suffer some form of mental illness, often undiagnosed and untreated. That is a partly due to a decision by state officials over the past few decades to "deinstitutionalize" most mental patients by closing state mental hospitals.
While the coalition is not calling for reopening of the mental hospitals, it said the state failed to provide enough resources to treat the mentally ill in communities. As a result, some commit crimes and end up incarcerated, where they usually do not get proper treatment and often deteriorate.
"We have not deinstitutionalized the mentally ill," said Mark Reinstein, a coalition member and president of the Mental Health Association of Michigan. "We have 'transititutionalized' them," shifting them from hospitals to jails and prisons.
The coalition, asserting that most crimes committed by the mentally ill are nonviolent, called for the creation of mental health courts that would send mentally ill offenders into treatment programs rather than jails and prisons.
Diagnosing and treating mental illness before a crime occurs would be even better, Reinstein said.
For those who still need to be incarcerated, the state should improve treatment programs in the prisons to stem the high recidivism rate for mentally ill inmates, he said.
"These aren't places that fit in with treatment," Reinstein said. "What we have now isn't anywhere near what it ought to be. We have a horrible epidemic problem here."
The group called on state leaders to commission an independent study to determine how common mental disorders are in Michigan's county jails, state prisons and juvenile facilities. Last fall, the state Corrections Department estimated 16 percent of its inmates have been diagnosed with mental health problems.
"I think that's a low number," said C. Patrick Babcock, former director of Michigan's Department of Mental Health.
Deinstitutionalization was a good idea, he said, but, after the state closed most mental hospitals, "too many people fell through the cracks."
He cited the case of Timothy Souders, who died of dehydration while shackled to a bed in a Jackson prison in August 2006. Because of his mental illness, Souders, 21, could not follow prison rules, and his condition deteriorated while he was locked in solitary confinement.
The coalition is calling for an end to solitary confinement as punishment for mentally ill inmates.
Nationally, about 64 percent of county jail inmates and 56 percent of state prison inmates suffer some form of mental illness, the group said, and 75 percent of those in juvenile facilities have emotional disorders.
The current state budget includes $400,000 for a study to determine what portion of the state's 51,000 prison inmates are mentally ill.
The last independent study two decades ago found 40 percent of Michigan's prison inmates had some form of mental illness, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depression.
A 1998 study by Wayne State University found that 45 percent of Kent County's jail inmates were mentally ill.
State prison officials generally agree with the coalition's goals, Corrections Department spokesman Russ Marlan said.
"We've always said we don't think prison is the best place to treat the mentally ill," he said. "We've said all along we have to take who we get, and we do the best job that we can before releasing them.
Coalition goals
The goals of Michigan Partners in Crisis are:
Inform the public and policy makers about the impact of untreated mental illness.
Spearhead independent analysis of the prevalence of mental disorders in state prisons, jails and juvenile justice facilities; determine treatment needs.
Work with the state to improve mental health diversion services.
Get the state to suspend -- rather than terminate -- Medicaid for incarcerated people with mental illness.
End solitary confinement as punishment for mentally ill inmates.
Give state Department of Community Health greater authority to manage and provide treatment for mentally ill inmates.
Send e-mail to the author: pshellenbarger@grpress.com
By Pat Shellenbarger
The Grand Rapids Press
With the state Corrections Department gobbling up more than $2 billion a year -- one-fifth the state's budget -- a statewide coalition of judges, police, social service officials and others say there is a better way to spend taxpayers' money -- treat the mentally ill rather than lock them up.
Citing what it called "a growing statewide crisis," the new group, called the Michigan Partners in Crisis, today released a list of six initiatives it said would improve treatment of the mentally ill, reduce the state's prison population, save money and lower the crime rate.
"It's a wiser investment of state dollars," said Michael Reagan, a member of the coalition's advisory board and president of the nonprofit Proaction Behavioral Health Alliance, based in Grand Rapids.
Besides, he said, "It's the humane thing to do, and it makes our communities safer."
While no recent figures are available, coalition members believe more than half the inmates in Michigan's prisons and jails suffer some form of mental illness, often undiagnosed and untreated. That is a partly due to a decision by state officials over the past few decades to "deinstitutionalize" most mental patients by closing state mental hospitals.
While the coalition is not calling for reopening of the mental hospitals, it said the state failed to provide enough resources to treat the mentally ill in communities. As a result, some commit crimes and end up incarcerated, where they usually do not get proper treatment and often deteriorate.
"We have not deinstitutionalized the mentally ill," said Mark Reinstein, a coalition member and president of the Mental Health Association of Michigan. "We have 'transititutionalized' them," shifting them from hospitals to jails and prisons.
The coalition, asserting that most crimes committed by the mentally ill are nonviolent, called for the creation of mental health courts that would send mentally ill offenders into treatment programs rather than jails and prisons.
Diagnosing and treating mental illness before a crime occurs would be even better, Reinstein said.
For those who still need to be incarcerated, the state should improve treatment programs in the prisons to stem the high recidivism rate for mentally ill inmates, he said.
"These aren't places that fit in with treatment," Reinstein said. "What we have now isn't anywhere near what it ought to be. We have a horrible epidemic problem here."
The group called on state leaders to commission an independent study to determine how common mental disorders are in Michigan's county jails, state prisons and juvenile facilities. Last fall, the state Corrections Department estimated 16 percent of its inmates have been diagnosed with mental health problems.
"I think that's a low number," said C. Patrick Babcock, former director of Michigan's Department of Mental Health.
Deinstitutionalization was a good idea, he said, but, after the state closed most mental hospitals, "too many people fell through the cracks."
He cited the case of Timothy Souders, who died of dehydration while shackled to a bed in a Jackson prison in August 2006. Because of his mental illness, Souders, 21, could not follow prison rules, and his condition deteriorated while he was locked in solitary confinement.
The coalition is calling for an end to solitary confinement as punishment for mentally ill inmates.
Nationally, about 64 percent of county jail inmates and 56 percent of state prison inmates suffer some form of mental illness, the group said, and 75 percent of those in juvenile facilities have emotional disorders.
The current state budget includes $400,000 for a study to determine what portion of the state's 51,000 prison inmates are mentally ill.
The last independent study two decades ago found 40 percent of Michigan's prison inmates had some form of mental illness, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depression.
A 1998 study by Wayne State University found that 45 percent of Kent County's jail inmates were mentally ill.
State prison officials generally agree with the coalition's goals, Corrections Department spokesman Russ Marlan said.
"We've always said we don't think prison is the best place to treat the mentally ill," he said. "We've said all along we have to take who we get, and we do the best job that we can before releasing them.
Coalition goals
The goals of Michigan Partners in Crisis are:
Inform the public and policy makers about the impact of untreated mental illness.
Spearhead independent analysis of the prevalence of mental disorders in state prisons, jails and juvenile justice facilities; determine treatment needs.
Work with the state to improve mental health diversion services.
Get the state to suspend -- rather than terminate -- Medicaid for incarcerated people with mental illness.
End solitary confinement as punishment for mentally ill inmates.
Give state Department of Community Health greater authority to manage and provide treatment for mentally ill inmates.
Send e-mail to the author: pshellenbarger@grpress.com
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Mental Health Advocates Meet in Tampa
01/10/08 Seán Kinane
WMNF Evening News Thursday Listen to this entire show:
There is such widespread incarceration of people with mental illness that jails have become the largest mental health care providers in many communities, according to a report released in November by the Florida Supreme Court.
The report on how the state’s courts and social support systems manage citizens with mental illness recommends that mentally ill patients be moved out of jails and into treatment facilities that are almost always less expensive. An advocacy group for people with mental illness or substance abuse, Florida Partners in Crisis, held a board meeting today in Tampa.
John Petrila is a professor with the Florida Mental Health Institute (FMHI) at the University of South Florida. He co-chaired the Policy, Legislative, and Finance Workgroup for the Supreme Court’s report.
Michele Saunders is the executive director of Florida Partners in Crisis, which she called a diverse coalition coming together with one purpose, to better fund the mental health and substance abuse system. One way to do that, according to Saunders, is to focus on legislation in Tallahassee, including a renewal of the Criminal Justice Mental Health Substance Abuse Reinvestment Act.
Saunders said increasing reinvestment funding is one of the recommendations in the Florida Supreme Court report and Florida Partners in Crisis will seek funding from the Legislature for others.
John Petrila said the Legislature has to follow up on the Supreme Court’s recommendations.
Saunders agrees that investing in up-front services will save the state money in the long run.
Mark Speiser is a circuit court judge in Broward County and is chair of the Florida Partners in Crisis Board. He said it was important for people with mental illnesses to have access to appropriate treatment.
One way to keep people with mental health issues out of the criminal justice system and get them needed care is through mental health courts. The country’s first mental health court was established in Broward County in 1997.
Within the next few months, Hillsborough County will begin a felony mental health court to reduce the criminalization of mental illness, headed by Hillsborough Circuit Court Judge Debra Benhke.
Benhke said there are advantages to having a mental health court as opposed to keeping everyone in the criminal court system.
Judge Speiser said the Mental Health Court in Broward County serves as a successful model for the one in Hillsborough.
The group Mental Health America of Greater Tampa Bay will host a Mental Health Brainstorming Council on Saturday, Feb. 2 from 9 a.m. until noon at St. Lawrence Catholic Church on Himes Avenue in Tampa.
For information on the Tampa Bay Region Mental Health Brainstorming Council II meeting Feb. 2, contact Scott F. Barnett at (813) 972-2618.
WMNF Evening News Thursday Listen to this entire show:
There is such widespread incarceration of people with mental illness that jails have become the largest mental health care providers in many communities, according to a report released in November by the Florida Supreme Court.
The report on how the state’s courts and social support systems manage citizens with mental illness recommends that mentally ill patients be moved out of jails and into treatment facilities that are almost always less expensive. An advocacy group for people with mental illness or substance abuse, Florida Partners in Crisis, held a board meeting today in Tampa.
John Petrila is a professor with the Florida Mental Health Institute (FMHI) at the University of South Florida. He co-chaired the Policy, Legislative, and Finance Workgroup for the Supreme Court’s report.
Michele Saunders is the executive director of Florida Partners in Crisis, which she called a diverse coalition coming together with one purpose, to better fund the mental health and substance abuse system. One way to do that, according to Saunders, is to focus on legislation in Tallahassee, including a renewal of the Criminal Justice Mental Health Substance Abuse Reinvestment Act.
Saunders said increasing reinvestment funding is one of the recommendations in the Florida Supreme Court report and Florida Partners in Crisis will seek funding from the Legislature for others.
John Petrila said the Legislature has to follow up on the Supreme Court’s recommendations.
Saunders agrees that investing in up-front services will save the state money in the long run.
Mark Speiser is a circuit court judge in Broward County and is chair of the Florida Partners in Crisis Board. He said it was important for people with mental illnesses to have access to appropriate treatment.
One way to keep people with mental health issues out of the criminal justice system and get them needed care is through mental health courts. The country’s first mental health court was established in Broward County in 1997.
Within the next few months, Hillsborough County will begin a felony mental health court to reduce the criminalization of mental illness, headed by Hillsborough Circuit Court Judge Debra Benhke.
Benhke said there are advantages to having a mental health court as opposed to keeping everyone in the criminal court system.
Judge Speiser said the Mental Health Court in Broward County serves as a successful model for the one in Hillsborough.
The group Mental Health America of Greater Tampa Bay will host a Mental Health Brainstorming Council on Saturday, Feb. 2 from 9 a.m. until noon at St. Lawrence Catholic Church on Himes Avenue in Tampa.
For information on the Tampa Bay Region Mental Health Brainstorming Council II meeting Feb. 2, contact Scott F. Barnett at (813) 972-2618.
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Scientists say teen brain, still maturing, is key to understanding behavior
Scans show that the brain doesn't mature until age 25; increasingly, courts are considering such findings as they decide what punishments fit teen crime.
By Malcolm Ritter
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sunday, December 09, 2007
NEW YORK — The teenage brain, Laurence Steinberg says, is like a car with a good accelerator but a weak brake. With powerful impulses under poor control, the likely result is a crash.
And, perhaps, a crime.
Steinberg, a Temple University psychology professor, helped draft an American Psychological Association brief for a 2005 case in which the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed the death penalty for crimes committed before age 18.
That ruling relies on the most recent research on the adolescent brain, which indicates the juvenile brain is still maturing in the teen years and reasoning and judgment are developing well into the early to mid-20s. It is often cited as state lawmakers consider scaling back punitive juvenile justice laws passed during the 1990s.
"As any parent knows," wrote Justice Anthony Kennedy for the 5-4 majority, youths are more likely to show "a lack of maturity and an underdeveloped sense of responsibility" than adults. " These qualities often result in impetuous and ill-considered actions and decisions."
He also noted that "juveniles are more vulnerable or susceptible to negative influences and outside pressures, including peer pressure," causing them to have less control over their environment.
Some child advocates have pointed to the Supreme Court decision and the research as evidence that teens — even those accused of serious crimes — should not be regarded in the same way as adults in the criminal justice system.
Dr. David Fassler, a psychiatry professor at the University of Vermont College of Medicine who has testified before legislative committees on brain development, says the research doesn't absolve teens but offers some explanation for their behavior.
"It doesn't mean adolescents can't make a rational decision or appreciate the difference between right and wrong," he said. "It does mean, particularly when confronted with stressful or emotional decisions, they are more likely to act impulsively, on instinct, without fully understanding or analyzing the consequences of their actions."
Experts say that even at ages 16 and 17, when compared to adults, juveniles on average are more impulsive, aggressive, emotionally volatile, reactive to stress and vulnerable to peer pressure. They also are more prone to focus on and overestimate short-term payoffs and underplay longer-term consequences of what they do. And they're more likely to overlook alternative courses of action.
Violence toward others also tends to peak in adolescent years, says psychiatrist Dr. Peter Ash of Emory University. It's mostly likely to start about age 16, and people who haven't committed a violent crime by age 19 only rarely start doing it later, he said.
The good news, he said, is that a violent adolescent doesn't necessarily become a violent adult. About two-thirds to three-quarters of violent youth grow out of it, Ash said. "They get more self-controlled."
Some of the changes found in behavioral studies are paralleled by changes in the brain itself as youths become adults. In fact, in just the past few years, Steinberg said, brain scans have given biological backing to common-sense notions about teen behavior.
It's one thing to say teens don't control their impulses as well as adults, but another to show that they can't, he said. As for peer pressure, the new brain research "gives credence to the idea that this isn't a choice that kids are making to give in to their friends — that biologically, they're more vulnerable to that," he said.
Consider the lobes at the front of the brain. The nerve circuitry there ties together inputs from other parts of the brain, said Dr. Jay Giedd of the National Institute of Mental Health.
This circuitry weighs how much priority to give incoming messages such as "Do this now" versus "Wait! What about the consequences?" In short, the frontal lobes are key for making good decisions and controlling impulses.
Brain scans show that the frontal lobes don't mature until age 25, and their connections to other parts of the brain continue to improve until at least that age, Giedd said.
The inexplicable behavior and poor judgments teens are known for almost always happen when teens are feeling powerful emotions or intense peer pressure, conditions that overwhelm the still-maturing circuitry in the front part of brain, Giedd said.
Giedd emphasized that scientists can't yet scan an individual's brain and draw conclusions about how mature he is, or the degree of responsibility he takes for his actions.
Brain scans do show group differences between adult and teen brains, he said, "but whether or not that should matter (in the courtroom) is the part that needs to be decided more by the judicial system than the neuroscientist."
There's nothing particularly magic about age 18 as a standard dividing line between juveniles and adults in the courtroom. Different mental capabilities mature at different rates, Steinberg notes. Teens as young as 15 or 16 can generally balance short-term rewards and possible costs as well as adults, but their ability to consider what might happen later on is still developing, he said.
A dividing line of age 18 is better than 15 and not necessarily superior to 19 or 17, but it appears good enough to be justified scientifically, he said.
Steinberg said he thinks courts should be able to punish some 16- or 17-year olds as adults. That would be reserved for repeat violent offenders who have resisted rehabilitation by the juvenile justice system and who could endanger other youths in the juvenile system if they returned. "I don't think there are a lot of these kids," Steinberg said.
For the rest, he says it makes sense to try rehabilitating young offenders in the juvenile justice system. That's better than sending them through the adult system, which can disrupt their development so severely that "they're never going be able to be a productive member of society," Steinberg said. "You're not doing society any favor at all."
Most experts conclude that rehabilitation works better for juveniles than for adult offenders, Ash said. And just as parents know how irrational juveniles can be, he said, they also know that rehabilitation is a key goal in punishing them.
"What we really want," he said, "is to turn delinquent kids into good adults."
Additional material from Associated Press writer Sharon Cohen.
By Malcolm Ritter
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sunday, December 09, 2007
NEW YORK — The teenage brain, Laurence Steinberg says, is like a car with a good accelerator but a weak brake. With powerful impulses under poor control, the likely result is a crash.
And, perhaps, a crime.
Steinberg, a Temple University psychology professor, helped draft an American Psychological Association brief for a 2005 case in which the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed the death penalty for crimes committed before age 18.
That ruling relies on the most recent research on the adolescent brain, which indicates the juvenile brain is still maturing in the teen years and reasoning and judgment are developing well into the early to mid-20s. It is often cited as state lawmakers consider scaling back punitive juvenile justice laws passed during the 1990s.
"As any parent knows," wrote Justice Anthony Kennedy for the 5-4 majority, youths are more likely to show "a lack of maturity and an underdeveloped sense of responsibility" than adults. " These qualities often result in impetuous and ill-considered actions and decisions."
He also noted that "juveniles are more vulnerable or susceptible to negative influences and outside pressures, including peer pressure," causing them to have less control over their environment.
Some child advocates have pointed to the Supreme Court decision and the research as evidence that teens — even those accused of serious crimes — should not be regarded in the same way as adults in the criminal justice system.
Dr. David Fassler, a psychiatry professor at the University of Vermont College of Medicine who has testified before legislative committees on brain development, says the research doesn't absolve teens but offers some explanation for their behavior.
"It doesn't mean adolescents can't make a rational decision or appreciate the difference between right and wrong," he said. "It does mean, particularly when confronted with stressful or emotional decisions, they are more likely to act impulsively, on instinct, without fully understanding or analyzing the consequences of their actions."
Experts say that even at ages 16 and 17, when compared to adults, juveniles on average are more impulsive, aggressive, emotionally volatile, reactive to stress and vulnerable to peer pressure. They also are more prone to focus on and overestimate short-term payoffs and underplay longer-term consequences of what they do. And they're more likely to overlook alternative courses of action.
Violence toward others also tends to peak in adolescent years, says psychiatrist Dr. Peter Ash of Emory University. It's mostly likely to start about age 16, and people who haven't committed a violent crime by age 19 only rarely start doing it later, he said.
The good news, he said, is that a violent adolescent doesn't necessarily become a violent adult. About two-thirds to three-quarters of violent youth grow out of it, Ash said. "They get more self-controlled."
Some of the changes found in behavioral studies are paralleled by changes in the brain itself as youths become adults. In fact, in just the past few years, Steinberg said, brain scans have given biological backing to common-sense notions about teen behavior.
It's one thing to say teens don't control their impulses as well as adults, but another to show that they can't, he said. As for peer pressure, the new brain research "gives credence to the idea that this isn't a choice that kids are making to give in to their friends — that biologically, they're more vulnerable to that," he said.
Consider the lobes at the front of the brain. The nerve circuitry there ties together inputs from other parts of the brain, said Dr. Jay Giedd of the National Institute of Mental Health.
This circuitry weighs how much priority to give incoming messages such as "Do this now" versus "Wait! What about the consequences?" In short, the frontal lobes are key for making good decisions and controlling impulses.
Brain scans show that the frontal lobes don't mature until age 25, and their connections to other parts of the brain continue to improve until at least that age, Giedd said.
The inexplicable behavior and poor judgments teens are known for almost always happen when teens are feeling powerful emotions or intense peer pressure, conditions that overwhelm the still-maturing circuitry in the front part of brain, Giedd said.
Giedd emphasized that scientists can't yet scan an individual's brain and draw conclusions about how mature he is, or the degree of responsibility he takes for his actions.
Brain scans do show group differences between adult and teen brains, he said, "but whether or not that should matter (in the courtroom) is the part that needs to be decided more by the judicial system than the neuroscientist."
There's nothing particularly magic about age 18 as a standard dividing line between juveniles and adults in the courtroom. Different mental capabilities mature at different rates, Steinberg notes. Teens as young as 15 or 16 can generally balance short-term rewards and possible costs as well as adults, but their ability to consider what might happen later on is still developing, he said.
A dividing line of age 18 is better than 15 and not necessarily superior to 19 or 17, but it appears good enough to be justified scientifically, he said.
Steinberg said he thinks courts should be able to punish some 16- or 17-year olds as adults. That would be reserved for repeat violent offenders who have resisted rehabilitation by the juvenile justice system and who could endanger other youths in the juvenile system if they returned. "I don't think there are a lot of these kids," Steinberg said.
For the rest, he says it makes sense to try rehabilitating young offenders in the juvenile justice system. That's better than sending them through the adult system, which can disrupt their development so severely that "they're never going be able to be a productive member of society," Steinberg said. "You're not doing society any favor at all."
Most experts conclude that rehabilitation works better for juveniles than for adult offenders, Ash said. And just as parents know how irrational juveniles can be, he said, they also know that rehabilitation is a key goal in punishing them.
"What we really want," he said, "is to turn delinquent kids into good adults."
Additional material from Associated Press writer Sharon Cohen.
Younger suspect in murder had 'mental problems'
Brother arrested in separate bat attack
BY AUSTIN L. MILLER
STAR-BANNER
FORT McCOY - Born prematurely at six months, William Myers weighed only a pound. At age 4, he was diagnosed as a schizophrenic with suicide rage disorder. He lived in several foster homes while his parents went through a bitter divorce, his family said. And now, at age 16, he stands charged with being an accomplice in the baseball bat slaying so brutal, a prosecutor has suggested it was done for "entertainment" or "pure meanness."
"He always had mental problems and issues," Irma Smith said about her stepson, whose 17th birthday Thursday was spent at the Juvenile Assessment Center.
Such was the life of Myers, as told by Smith and the boy's father, William, in an interview with the Star-Banner at Fort McCoy park.
Friday's arrest was yet another shock for the family. Myer's 18-year-old brother is in jail in an unrelated case on charges of beating someone with a bat. Now, the family says they are receiving phone death threats and someone tried to run Smith off the road.
On Friday, Myers and his 18-year-old cousin, James E. Roberts, were arrested by Ocala police and charged with the murder of 44-year-old Robert T. Leigh behind a Western wear store on Northwest Blitchton Road Police say Roberts swung the bat so hard that part of Leigh's head was lopped off.
Both Smith and Myer's father insist the teenager is "not a bad person." They conceded that he is a follower and not a leader.
"Growing up, he always craved attention," Smith said.
Myer's father and stepmother, who said they have received death threats, dispute the claims of the teen's aunt, Sherry Ann Mahle, that young Myers was kicked out of the home. Both said the situation that caused Myers to leave was spurred by two things.
On Oct. 20, the family hosted a birthday party at their Salt Springs home for Mahle and he wanted to drink. Because he was only 16, Smith told him no. After that, Myers decided he wanted to live with his mother, a person they say he seldom sees.
"I wasn't going to deprive him of his mother, so he went there," Myers' father said.
Not long after he went there, however, Myers got into trouble. The couple said Myers did not want to return home because he wasn't going to obey their rules. He then went to live with his aunt, Mahle, her husband and his cousin.
Mahle said in a Tuesday interview with the Star-Banner that Myers told her that he had been kicked out of the house.
Like Smith, Mahle believes her son also has had problems too big to handle. Mahle said Roberts never got over the death of his older brother six years ago, who was struck and killed by a car. He got into trouble, despite her efforts to get counseling for him and a general education diploma, she said.
The bat allegedly used in the slaying had belonged to Roberts' brother, and was a gift on his 12th birthday.
So far, the State Attorney's Office has not made a decision on whether Myers will be charged as an adult. They also have not made a decision on whether Roberts will face the death penalty. Myers is, by law, too young to face the death penalty, if convicted of first-degree murder.
Smith said there is another reason her stepson should be treated differently.
"He doesn't have a mental capacity of an adult," Smith said. At the time of the slaying, Myers was attending GED classes.
Myers' family hopes William will be transferred to a mental facility "to get help," his father said.
While the family is dealing with one son facing the possibility of a long time behind bars, they are also coping with Myers' brother, Michael, who is currently at the Marion County Jail in an unrelated case for allegedly beating someone with a baseball bat.
According to a Nov. 16 Marion County Sheriff's Office report, 18-year-old Michael Myers reportedly barged into a Salt Springs home and hit a 20-year-old man in the face and several areas of his body with a bat. The victim received a total of 12 stitches for lacerations to his upper lip and the back of his head. In an interview with the Star-Banner, Michael Myers denied hitting the man. He said the man was drunk and fell down the stairs. He declined to answer any questions about his brother.
Mahle said her son's bat was not used in that incident. Smith and the elder Myers didn't want to talk about Michael Myers' case.
The younger Myers cannot be reached for comment.
As for Myers and Roberts, Myers' father and stepmother said "they will stand by them."
"We will go to every visit, be at every court date, and be there every step of the way," they said.
They said "they're sorry for Leigh, his children and his family."
To keep his memory alive, the Leigh family has created a Web site in his honor. A section of the site read: "During the final months of his life, all he wanted was to reunite with his children, Rob and Illaena Kaye Leigh. While it is tragically too little, too late, we hope to honor his memory by doing something."
Austin L. Miller may be reached at austin.miller@starbanner.com or 867-4118.
BY AUSTIN L. MILLER
STAR-BANNER
FORT McCOY - Born prematurely at six months, William Myers weighed only a pound. At age 4, he was diagnosed as a schizophrenic with suicide rage disorder. He lived in several foster homes while his parents went through a bitter divorce, his family said. And now, at age 16, he stands charged with being an accomplice in the baseball bat slaying so brutal, a prosecutor has suggested it was done for "entertainment" or "pure meanness."
"He always had mental problems and issues," Irma Smith said about her stepson, whose 17th birthday Thursday was spent at the Juvenile Assessment Center.
Such was the life of Myers, as told by Smith and the boy's father, William, in an interview with the Star-Banner at Fort McCoy park.
Friday's arrest was yet another shock for the family. Myer's 18-year-old brother is in jail in an unrelated case on charges of beating someone with a bat. Now, the family says they are receiving phone death threats and someone tried to run Smith off the road.
On Friday, Myers and his 18-year-old cousin, James E. Roberts, were arrested by Ocala police and charged with the murder of 44-year-old Robert T. Leigh behind a Western wear store on Northwest Blitchton Road Police say Roberts swung the bat so hard that part of Leigh's head was lopped off.
Both Smith and Myer's father insist the teenager is "not a bad person." They conceded that he is a follower and not a leader.
"Growing up, he always craved attention," Smith said.
Myer's father and stepmother, who said they have received death threats, dispute the claims of the teen's aunt, Sherry Ann Mahle, that young Myers was kicked out of the home. Both said the situation that caused Myers to leave was spurred by two things.
On Oct. 20, the family hosted a birthday party at their Salt Springs home for Mahle and he wanted to drink. Because he was only 16, Smith told him no. After that, Myers decided he wanted to live with his mother, a person they say he seldom sees.
"I wasn't going to deprive him of his mother, so he went there," Myers' father said.
Not long after he went there, however, Myers got into trouble. The couple said Myers did not want to return home because he wasn't going to obey their rules. He then went to live with his aunt, Mahle, her husband and his cousin.
Mahle said in a Tuesday interview with the Star-Banner that Myers told her that he had been kicked out of the house.
Like Smith, Mahle believes her son also has had problems too big to handle. Mahle said Roberts never got over the death of his older brother six years ago, who was struck and killed by a car. He got into trouble, despite her efforts to get counseling for him and a general education diploma, she said.
The bat allegedly used in the slaying had belonged to Roberts' brother, and was a gift on his 12th birthday.
So far, the State Attorney's Office has not made a decision on whether Myers will be charged as an adult. They also have not made a decision on whether Roberts will face the death penalty. Myers is, by law, too young to face the death penalty, if convicted of first-degree murder.
Smith said there is another reason her stepson should be treated differently.
"He doesn't have a mental capacity of an adult," Smith said. At the time of the slaying, Myers was attending GED classes.
Myers' family hopes William will be transferred to a mental facility "to get help," his father said.
While the family is dealing with one son facing the possibility of a long time behind bars, they are also coping with Myers' brother, Michael, who is currently at the Marion County Jail in an unrelated case for allegedly beating someone with a baseball bat.
According to a Nov. 16 Marion County Sheriff's Office report, 18-year-old Michael Myers reportedly barged into a Salt Springs home and hit a 20-year-old man in the face and several areas of his body with a bat. The victim received a total of 12 stitches for lacerations to his upper lip and the back of his head. In an interview with the Star-Banner, Michael Myers denied hitting the man. He said the man was drunk and fell down the stairs. He declined to answer any questions about his brother.
Mahle said her son's bat was not used in that incident. Smith and the elder Myers didn't want to talk about Michael Myers' case.
The younger Myers cannot be reached for comment.
As for Myers and Roberts, Myers' father and stepmother said "they will stand by them."
"We will go to every visit, be at every court date, and be there every step of the way," they said.
They said "they're sorry for Leigh, his children and his family."
To keep his memory alive, the Leigh family has created a Web site in his honor. A section of the site read: "During the final months of his life, all he wanted was to reunite with his children, Rob and Illaena Kaye Leigh. While it is tragically too little, too late, we hope to honor his memory by doing something."
Austin L. Miller may be reached at austin.miller@starbanner.com or 867-4118.
Common Thread of Shooters' Desperate Isolation Suggests Need for Early Intervention
Dec. 7, 2007
As the shocked residents of Omaha, Neb., struggle to pick up the pieces after Wednesday's massacre by a gunman at an area mall, psychological experts say the incident is yet another reminder of the inadequacies of the U.S. justice and health care systems when dealing with mentally troubled individuals.
In past incidents -- including the Virginia Tech massacre in April and the Trolley Square Mall shooting in February -- the perpetrator was later described as a loner, an outcast.
"All have that same theme of alienation and isolation," said Beverly Hills-based forensic psychiatrist Dr. Carole Lieberman. "Many of these shooters have been picked on by their peers or felt 'out of the loop.'"
"I think much of this stems from how we've become a much more isolation-oriented society," said Carolyn Wolf, senior partner at Abrams, Fensterman, Fensterman, Eisman, Greenberg, Formato & Einiger, LLP -- a mental health law practice in New York. "With computers and all of the technology that we now have available, people are much more easily able to be isolated, and with isolation comes withdrawal -- withdrawal from friends and family, as well as withdrawal from the medical system."
But mental health experts say these tragedies have something else in common -- they all point to a mental health system that minimizes the chances that these outsiders can get access to proper psychological services, which would possibly stop the tragedies before they occur.
"The gamut of mental health services has been lacking severely across the country," Wolf said.
"There are many dollars that are allocated for physical services, but mental health has been significantly overlooked," she said. "What all of this highlights is a very significant need for increased funds to help people who suffer from mental illness."
And it's not just a funding problem, they say. The set of laws governing intervention for mental health concerns are a patchwork across the country. New York, Wolf notes, has a state law providing for mental health warrants in which people can go through the courts to have their loved ones ordered to mental health treatment if they fear that they could become dangerous.
In Florida, legislation known as the Baker Act allows judges, law enforcement officials or mental health professionals to order individuals to receive mental health care if they are determined to pose a danger to themselves or others.
But not all states have such laws. And even in these states, admitting an individual in a potentially dangerous state of mental health is no simple task.
"You always have to meet certain legal standards in order to admit someone for mental treatment," Wolf said. "A person has to be deemed dangerous to themselves or others before they will intervene."
The solution, Wolf said, appears to lie in a combination of improvements, both within and outside the system, from increased funding, to better legislation, to a better overall understanding among the public of mental health issues.
"People need to become more educated as to what some of the signs of illness are, as well as the options for treatment," she said.
With this in mind, let's take a closer look at the Westroads Mall shooting, as well as other high-profile cases of mass shooting in the past.
Dec. 5, 2007: The Westroads Mall Shooting
The first hint that something terrible was happening at an Omaha mall came in the form of a 911 call received at 3:42 p.m.
Shortly afterwards, nine people at the Westroads Mall were dead -- including 19-year-old gunman Robert A. Hawkins.
Hawkins had reportedly been fired from his job at a McDonald's in the previous week, and had recently broken up with his girlfriend. According to reports by The Associated Press, Hawkins left a note in the home of his adopted family before the shooting spree. In it, he said he was "sorry for everything" and would not be a burden on his family anymore.
He also wrote, "Now I'll be famous."
"Robert was a desperate young man, who felt unseen and unloved by his parents, his girlfriend, his boss and the rest of the world," Lieberman said. "The only way he knew to become 'somebody' that others paid attention to was by creating news of his wreaking violence.
"Since he felt he wouldn't become famous for positive contributions to society, he settled for infamy as a mass shooter. Because he felt powerless and weak, he wanted to go out as someone who could inflict mass hysteria, fear, injury and death."
Indeed, those who knew Hawkins say he was an "introverted, troubled young man."
Hawkins, from Bellevue, Neb., was kicked out by his family about a year ago. He moved in with a friend's family, and Debora Maruca-Kovac and her husband welcomed him into their home and tried to help the teen.
In a TV interview, Maruca-Kovac described Hawkins as "a troubled young man who was like a lost pound puppy that nobody wanted."
And Hawkins had also experienced run-ins with the law -- missed opportunities, Lieberman said, for the detection and proper treatment of his mental problems.
"One difference between Robert and Cho Seung Hui [the gunman at Virginia Tech] and the Columbine shooters is that he had been convicted for felonies and misdemeanors," she said. "While he had the attention of the court, he should have been ordered into psychiatric treatment, or even juvenile detention."
April 16, 2007: The Virginia Tech Massacre
In some cases, however, the mental problems displayed by a shooter are too vivid to ignore.
Such was the case with Virginia Tech student Cho, whose disturbing video he shot of himself before he went on a shooting rampage sweeps away any doubt about his disturbed state of his mind.
The video, which Cho mailed to NBC News in a two-hour hiatus during the horrific shooting spree, features a violent and disorganized diatribe which psychological experts say offers a glimpse into a mind twisted by psychosis and rage.
"It appears that this was not schizophrenia, but some form of severe mental illness accompanied by paranoid delusional thinking, as reflected in his rantings on the video about people with trust funds and cognac and vodka," Dr. Redford Williams told ABC News shortly after the incident. Williams is director of Duke University's Behavioral Medicine Research Center in Durham, N.C.
Dr. Kathyrn Moss, attending psychiatrist in the Personalities Disorders Clinic at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell, agreed that a combination of mental distress and isolation likely led to Cho's behavior.
"This is a mix -- a constellation of factors that came together in a horrific way," Moss said. "It's not just one thing. It can't be."
But his grave isolation -- as well as spotty access to mental health services -- could have played an important role in the student's rampage, which left 32 people dead and another 25 injured.
Records show that there were several instances during which Cho could have received the mental health help he needed. The police brought Cho to a mental health center in December 2005, where social worker Kathy Godbey determined that he represented a danger to himself or others, and that he could be put in temporary custody.
After another evaluation, psychologist Roy Crouse concluded that Cho was "mentally ill but did not present an imminent danger to himself or others, and did not require involuntary hospitalization."
As a result, a court magistrate released Cho, ordering outpatient treatment and follow-up. It is not clear whether Cho was ever contacted or participated in such treatment.
Moreover, questions linger as to whether Cho's mental health records were allowed to be released to his parents before the shooting took place.
Feb. 12, 2007: The Trolley Square Mall Shooting
Much like the most recent rampage in Omaha, the February shooting that occurred in Salt Lake City, Utah, took place in a bustling mall.
The Trolley Square Mall tragedy was the first mass shooting at a mall in 2007. In total, nine people were shot -- five of them fatally.
And the profile of the killer bears some similarities to others who have committed these types of shootings. Sulejman Talovic was an outsider, 18-year-old Bosnian immigrant who lived with his mother in Salt Lake City.
According to local reports, Talovic had a history of minor run-ins with the law. He was also a high school dropout.
But despite his past problems, for most there was little warning that he would show up at the Trolley Square Mall on a busy evening and start shooting people.
Though no clear motive for the rampage was ever established, a local newspaper reported shortly after the incident that Talovic claimed to be involved with a local gang.
Marie Smith, 23, a manager at a Bath & Body Works in the mall, later told The Associated Press that she had seen the gunman raise his gun and fire at a young woman during the incident.
"His expression stayed totally calm," Smith told the AP. "He didn't seem upset, or like he was on a rampage."
Feb. 13, 2005: The Hudson Valley Mall Shooting
According to local reports, Robert Bonelli Jr., age 24 at the time, was a shy outsider who lived in constant fear of being picked on for his nearly 300-pound physique.
And after his shooting rampage at the Hudson Valley Mall in Kingston, N.Y., which left two people wounded, mental health experts believe that it was this insecurity and isolation that may have been a key part of what drove him to the act.
"It is that same theme of alienation and isolation," Lieberman said. "Many of these shooters have been picked on by their peers or felt out of the loop."
According to a report in the Poughkeepsie Journal, Bonelli walked into a Best Buy holding an AK-47 rifle replica loaded with 60 rounds of ammunition. He began firing randomly, and he didn't stop until he had expended all of his ammunition.
His family would later reveal that they believed Bonelli had a death wish -- and that he wanted the police to do the job.
''It drove him to have himself killed by law enforcement that wasn't there in time,'' his uncle, John Bonelli, told the Journal. ''Because if they were there in time, this kid would have been in a body bag.''
Bonelli pleaded guilty to committing the shooting on May 20, 2006, and he was subsequently sentenced to 32 years in prison.
April 20, 1999: The Columbine Massacre
The school shooting at Columbine High School took place at the hands of students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold on April 20, 1999. Many have pointed to the tragedy as both a template and catalyst for future shootings.
Indeed, Cho referenced the killers in his chilling video. And Bonelli reportedly had a picture of the killers taped to one of his bedroom walls.
But the case also raised awareness among many parents that the social isolation and brooding rage that can lead to such an attack could develop at home -- and largely unnoticed.
"In this case, the shooters were living with their parents, but their parents didn't have a clue who they really were," Lieberman said, adding that the episode shattered the illusion of the safety and security of an upper-middle-class upbringing.
"What matters is the attention and the love that the child is getting from their parents," she said.
In total, the rampage by the two students claimed the lives of 12 students and a teacher. The attacks wounded 23 others, and both of the boys committed suicide following the incident.
Lieberman said that if there is any lesson to be learned from Columbine -- as well as other more recent tragedies -- it is that parents and others should be on alert for the signs of dangerous mental health conditions -- and intervene before it is too late.
"People should report their suspicions to family members, the police, doctors, teachers and others in authority," Lieberman said.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
As the shocked residents of Omaha, Neb., struggle to pick up the pieces after Wednesday's massacre by a gunman at an area mall, psychological experts say the incident is yet another reminder of the inadequacies of the U.S. justice and health care systems when dealing with mentally troubled individuals.
In past incidents -- including the Virginia Tech massacre in April and the Trolley Square Mall shooting in February -- the perpetrator was later described as a loner, an outcast.
"All have that same theme of alienation and isolation," said Beverly Hills-based forensic psychiatrist Dr. Carole Lieberman. "Many of these shooters have been picked on by their peers or felt 'out of the loop.'"
"I think much of this stems from how we've become a much more isolation-oriented society," said Carolyn Wolf, senior partner at Abrams, Fensterman, Fensterman, Eisman, Greenberg, Formato & Einiger, LLP -- a mental health law practice in New York. "With computers and all of the technology that we now have available, people are much more easily able to be isolated, and with isolation comes withdrawal -- withdrawal from friends and family, as well as withdrawal from the medical system."
But mental health experts say these tragedies have something else in common -- they all point to a mental health system that minimizes the chances that these outsiders can get access to proper psychological services, which would possibly stop the tragedies before they occur.
"The gamut of mental health services has been lacking severely across the country," Wolf said.
"There are many dollars that are allocated for physical services, but mental health has been significantly overlooked," she said. "What all of this highlights is a very significant need for increased funds to help people who suffer from mental illness."
And it's not just a funding problem, they say. The set of laws governing intervention for mental health concerns are a patchwork across the country. New York, Wolf notes, has a state law providing for mental health warrants in which people can go through the courts to have their loved ones ordered to mental health treatment if they fear that they could become dangerous.
In Florida, legislation known as the Baker Act allows judges, law enforcement officials or mental health professionals to order individuals to receive mental health care if they are determined to pose a danger to themselves or others.
But not all states have such laws. And even in these states, admitting an individual in a potentially dangerous state of mental health is no simple task.
"You always have to meet certain legal standards in order to admit someone for mental treatment," Wolf said. "A person has to be deemed dangerous to themselves or others before they will intervene."
The solution, Wolf said, appears to lie in a combination of improvements, both within and outside the system, from increased funding, to better legislation, to a better overall understanding among the public of mental health issues.
"People need to become more educated as to what some of the signs of illness are, as well as the options for treatment," she said.
With this in mind, let's take a closer look at the Westroads Mall shooting, as well as other high-profile cases of mass shooting in the past.
Dec. 5, 2007: The Westroads Mall Shooting
The first hint that something terrible was happening at an Omaha mall came in the form of a 911 call received at 3:42 p.m.
Shortly afterwards, nine people at the Westroads Mall were dead -- including 19-year-old gunman Robert A. Hawkins.
Hawkins had reportedly been fired from his job at a McDonald's in the previous week, and had recently broken up with his girlfriend. According to reports by The Associated Press, Hawkins left a note in the home of his adopted family before the shooting spree. In it, he said he was "sorry for everything" and would not be a burden on his family anymore.
He also wrote, "Now I'll be famous."
"Robert was a desperate young man, who felt unseen and unloved by his parents, his girlfriend, his boss and the rest of the world," Lieberman said. "The only way he knew to become 'somebody' that others paid attention to was by creating news of his wreaking violence.
"Since he felt he wouldn't become famous for positive contributions to society, he settled for infamy as a mass shooter. Because he felt powerless and weak, he wanted to go out as someone who could inflict mass hysteria, fear, injury and death."
Indeed, those who knew Hawkins say he was an "introverted, troubled young man."
Hawkins, from Bellevue, Neb., was kicked out by his family about a year ago. He moved in with a friend's family, and Debora Maruca-Kovac and her husband welcomed him into their home and tried to help the teen.
In a TV interview, Maruca-Kovac described Hawkins as "a troubled young man who was like a lost pound puppy that nobody wanted."
And Hawkins had also experienced run-ins with the law -- missed opportunities, Lieberman said, for the detection and proper treatment of his mental problems.
"One difference between Robert and Cho Seung Hui [the gunman at Virginia Tech] and the Columbine shooters is that he had been convicted for felonies and misdemeanors," she said. "While he had the attention of the court, he should have been ordered into psychiatric treatment, or even juvenile detention."
April 16, 2007: The Virginia Tech Massacre
In some cases, however, the mental problems displayed by a shooter are too vivid to ignore.
Such was the case with Virginia Tech student Cho, whose disturbing video he shot of himself before he went on a shooting rampage sweeps away any doubt about his disturbed state of his mind.
The video, which Cho mailed to NBC News in a two-hour hiatus during the horrific shooting spree, features a violent and disorganized diatribe which psychological experts say offers a glimpse into a mind twisted by psychosis and rage.
"It appears that this was not schizophrenia, but some form of severe mental illness accompanied by paranoid delusional thinking, as reflected in his rantings on the video about people with trust funds and cognac and vodka," Dr. Redford Williams told ABC News shortly after the incident. Williams is director of Duke University's Behavioral Medicine Research Center in Durham, N.C.
Dr. Kathyrn Moss, attending psychiatrist in the Personalities Disorders Clinic at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell, agreed that a combination of mental distress and isolation likely led to Cho's behavior.
"This is a mix -- a constellation of factors that came together in a horrific way," Moss said. "It's not just one thing. It can't be."
But his grave isolation -- as well as spotty access to mental health services -- could have played an important role in the student's rampage, which left 32 people dead and another 25 injured.
Records show that there were several instances during which Cho could have received the mental health help he needed. The police brought Cho to a mental health center in December 2005, where social worker Kathy Godbey determined that he represented a danger to himself or others, and that he could be put in temporary custody.
After another evaluation, psychologist Roy Crouse concluded that Cho was "mentally ill but did not present an imminent danger to himself or others, and did not require involuntary hospitalization."
As a result, a court magistrate released Cho, ordering outpatient treatment and follow-up. It is not clear whether Cho was ever contacted or participated in such treatment.
Moreover, questions linger as to whether Cho's mental health records were allowed to be released to his parents before the shooting took place.
Feb. 12, 2007: The Trolley Square Mall Shooting
Much like the most recent rampage in Omaha, the February shooting that occurred in Salt Lake City, Utah, took place in a bustling mall.
The Trolley Square Mall tragedy was the first mass shooting at a mall in 2007. In total, nine people were shot -- five of them fatally.
And the profile of the killer bears some similarities to others who have committed these types of shootings. Sulejman Talovic was an outsider, 18-year-old Bosnian immigrant who lived with his mother in Salt Lake City.
According to local reports, Talovic had a history of minor run-ins with the law. He was also a high school dropout.
But despite his past problems, for most there was little warning that he would show up at the Trolley Square Mall on a busy evening and start shooting people.
Though no clear motive for the rampage was ever established, a local newspaper reported shortly after the incident that Talovic claimed to be involved with a local gang.
Marie Smith, 23, a manager at a Bath & Body Works in the mall, later told The Associated Press that she had seen the gunman raise his gun and fire at a young woman during the incident.
"His expression stayed totally calm," Smith told the AP. "He didn't seem upset, or like he was on a rampage."
Feb. 13, 2005: The Hudson Valley Mall Shooting
According to local reports, Robert Bonelli Jr., age 24 at the time, was a shy outsider who lived in constant fear of being picked on for his nearly 300-pound physique.
And after his shooting rampage at the Hudson Valley Mall in Kingston, N.Y., which left two people wounded, mental health experts believe that it was this insecurity and isolation that may have been a key part of what drove him to the act.
"It is that same theme of alienation and isolation," Lieberman said. "Many of these shooters have been picked on by their peers or felt out of the loop."
According to a report in the Poughkeepsie Journal, Bonelli walked into a Best Buy holding an AK-47 rifle replica loaded with 60 rounds of ammunition. He began firing randomly, and he didn't stop until he had expended all of his ammunition.
His family would later reveal that they believed Bonelli had a death wish -- and that he wanted the police to do the job.
''It drove him to have himself killed by law enforcement that wasn't there in time,'' his uncle, John Bonelli, told the Journal. ''Because if they were there in time, this kid would have been in a body bag.''
Bonelli pleaded guilty to committing the shooting on May 20, 2006, and he was subsequently sentenced to 32 years in prison.
April 20, 1999: The Columbine Massacre
The school shooting at Columbine High School took place at the hands of students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold on April 20, 1999. Many have pointed to the tragedy as both a template and catalyst for future shootings.
Indeed, Cho referenced the killers in his chilling video. And Bonelli reportedly had a picture of the killers taped to one of his bedroom walls.
But the case also raised awareness among many parents that the social isolation and brooding rage that can lead to such an attack could develop at home -- and largely unnoticed.
"In this case, the shooters were living with their parents, but their parents didn't have a clue who they really were," Lieberman said, adding that the episode shattered the illusion of the safety and security of an upper-middle-class upbringing.
"What matters is the attention and the love that the child is getting from their parents," she said.
In total, the rampage by the two students claimed the lives of 12 students and a teacher. The attacks wounded 23 others, and both of the boys committed suicide following the incident.
Lieberman said that if there is any lesson to be learned from Columbine -- as well as other more recent tragedies -- it is that parents and others should be on alert for the signs of dangerous mental health conditions -- and intervene before it is too late.
"People should report their suspicions to family members, the police, doctors, teachers and others in authority," Lieberman said.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Orlando-area judge frees mentally ill woman who killed her parents in '88
She has been in state mental hospitals most of the time since their deaths in '88.
Rene Stutzman
Sentinel Staff Writer
December 2, 2007
SANFORD
When Stephanie Gardner stops taking her medication, things go very wrong. For months in 1988, she heard voices in her head, telling her to kill her parents. One night, she stood up from a card game, walked into another room and shot her father and mother with a .38-caliber handgun.
Since then, she's spent most of her days locked in state mental hospitals.
Soon that will end. A judge ruled Friday that Gardner is well enough to be set free. Circuit Judge O.H. Eaton Jr. ordered her released from the state hospital in Chattahoochee and into a privately run home for the mentally ill in Miami.
There she'll be supervised, but she won't be locked up. That, said Assistant State Attorney Chris White, makes her a risk.
Gardner has been diagnosed with bipolar schizoaffective disorder.
She doesn't believe she's mentally ill, however, according to three medical experts who testified Friday in Seminole Circuit Court. If Gardner stays on her medication, she should be fine, said psychiatrist Jeffrey Danziger. If, however, she walks away from the Miami facility, she's almost certain to stop taking her medicine, he said.
Gardner doesn't like taking her medication and can't be trusted to take it, White said.
"This woman killed two people," he said.
He pleaded with the judge to leave her locked in the state hospital.
Gardner was a 30-year-old mother of two in June 1988 when she got up from her card game and killed Daniel Dinda, 66, and Carolyn Dinda, 60, at the couple's home near Oviedo. During her trial, witnesses testified to her strange beliefs, such as radio transmitters in her teeth were tracking her and that microwaves from satellites were displacing the souls of her children.
A jury found her not guilty by reason of insanity. Eaton later ordered her hospitalized indefinitely.
Gardner has been released before, always under supervision, but things did not go well.
About a year after she was released to a group home in Jacksonville in 2000, she went off her medicine, became unmanageable, stopped going to treatment sessions and bought a car.
When a different judge found out, he ordered her to jail for several weeks then into a more restrictive group home.
Four years later, in late 2005, she went off her medication again and disappeared for weeks. She traveled from Jacksonville to Tampa then flew to Washington, where she was taken into custody. No one had reported her missing.
Since then, she's been locked up.
For months, medical experts at the hospital in Chattahoochee and her lawyer have argued that she's stable enough to release.
Dr. Bruce Chlopan, a psychologist, testified Friday that in the year or so he's treated her, she has had no delusions or hallucinations.
Defense attorney Tim Caudill argued that the law does not allow the state to keep a mental patient locked up just because she might stop taking her medicine and become unstable.
The judge agreed.
Rene Stutzman can be reached at rstutzman@orlandosentinel.com or 407-324-7294.
Rene Stutzman
Sentinel Staff Writer
December 2, 2007
SANFORD
When Stephanie Gardner stops taking her medication, things go very wrong. For months in 1988, she heard voices in her head, telling her to kill her parents. One night, she stood up from a card game, walked into another room and shot her father and mother with a .38-caliber handgun.
Since then, she's spent most of her days locked in state mental hospitals.
Soon that will end. A judge ruled Friday that Gardner is well enough to be set free. Circuit Judge O.H. Eaton Jr. ordered her released from the state hospital in Chattahoochee and into a privately run home for the mentally ill in Miami.
There she'll be supervised, but she won't be locked up. That, said Assistant State Attorney Chris White, makes her a risk.
Gardner has been diagnosed with bipolar schizoaffective disorder.
She doesn't believe she's mentally ill, however, according to three medical experts who testified Friday in Seminole Circuit Court. If Gardner stays on her medication, she should be fine, said psychiatrist Jeffrey Danziger. If, however, she walks away from the Miami facility, she's almost certain to stop taking her medicine, he said.
Gardner doesn't like taking her medication and can't be trusted to take it, White said.
"This woman killed two people," he said.
He pleaded with the judge to leave her locked in the state hospital.
Gardner was a 30-year-old mother of two in June 1988 when she got up from her card game and killed Daniel Dinda, 66, and Carolyn Dinda, 60, at the couple's home near Oviedo. During her trial, witnesses testified to her strange beliefs, such as radio transmitters in her teeth were tracking her and that microwaves from satellites were displacing the souls of her children.
A jury found her not guilty by reason of insanity. Eaton later ordered her hospitalized indefinitely.
Gardner has been released before, always under supervision, but things did not go well.
About a year after she was released to a group home in Jacksonville in 2000, she went off her medicine, became unmanageable, stopped going to treatment sessions and bought a car.
When a different judge found out, he ordered her to jail for several weeks then into a more restrictive group home.
Four years later, in late 2005, she went off her medication again and disappeared for weeks. She traveled from Jacksonville to Tampa then flew to Washington, where she was taken into custody. No one had reported her missing.
Since then, she's been locked up.
For months, medical experts at the hospital in Chattahoochee and her lawyer have argued that she's stable enough to release.
Dr. Bruce Chlopan, a psychologist, testified Friday that in the year or so he's treated her, she has had no delusions or hallucinations.
Defense attorney Tim Caudill argued that the law does not allow the state to keep a mental patient locked up just because she might stop taking her medicine and become unstable.
The judge agreed.
Rene Stutzman can be reached at rstutzman@orlandosentinel.com or 407-324-7294.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Legislation Improves Mental Health Services For Mentally Ill Prisoners
19 Nov 2007
The American Psychiatric Association (APA) applauds recent Congressional efforts to acknowledge and improve treatment for the large number of people with mental illnesses and substance use disorders who are currently incarcerated in U.S. jails and prisons.
According to a 2006 report by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), entitled "Mental Health Problems of Prison and Jail Inmates," more than half of the population incarcerated in U.S. prisons and jails - including 56 percent of state prisoners, 45 percent of federal prisoners and 64 percent of local jail inmates - were found to have a mental illness. Many of these inmates suffer from treatable disorders such as major depression, bipolar disorder and substance use disorder.
On November 13, the U.S. House of Representatives passed, by a vote of 347 to 62, the Second Chance Act, legislation sponsored by Congressman Danny Davis (D-Ill.). The legislation would provide transitional assistance to ex-offenders in an effort to reduce recidivism. Additionally, the legislation would extend and provide a full continuum of care for treatment of substance use disorders. The legislation also seeks to improve mental health screening and treatment and provides grants for family treatment programs. In August, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee approved similar legislation, sponsored by Senator Joseph Biden, Jr. (D-Del.).
The Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Reauthorization and Improvement Act (H.R. 3992 and S. 2304) aims to improve services for mentally ill prisoners by reauthorizing and boosting funding for a grant program that provides treatment for inmates and training for law enforcement officers who treat them. The House bill is sponsored by Representative Robert Scott (D•Va.) and the Senate bill is sponsored by Senators Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Pete Domenici (R-N.M.). On November 7, the House Judiciary Committee passed H.R. 3992, which will now head to the full House for a vote. On November 5, the Senate introduced S. 2304.
In response to the legislative actions, the APA issued the following statement:
"It is a national tragedy that jails and prisons have become the primary mental health care facilities in the United States today.
"People with mental illness, left untreated, can develop symptoms and behaviors that lead to their arrest and incarceration. Mental health and substance use disorder treatment in appropriate settings is often the answer, and adequate funding for such treatment is urgently needed.
"Ending the 'criminalization of the mentally ill' and the inappropriate incarceration of persons with mental illness could prevent unnecessary building of correctional facilities and make room for violent and repeat offenders.
"Providing more adequate funding and cooperative programs between mental health care professionals and correctional agencies is a step in the right direction. Providing these cooperative resources could, in the end, help improve overall public safety."
"We applaud the bi-partisan action taken by both the House and Senate. If enacted, the legislation would represent significant steps forward in improving access to mental health services and substance abuse treatment programs in the United States for those incarcerated within the prison system."
About the American Psychiatric Association
The American Psychiatric Association is a national medical specialty society whose more than 38,000 physician members specialize in diagnosis, treatment, prevention and research of mental illnesses including substance use disorders. Visit the APA at http://www.psych.org and http://www.HealthyMinds.org.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Article URL: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/89196.php
Main News Category: Mental Health
Also Appears In: Psychology / Psychiatry,
The American Psychiatric Association (APA) applauds recent Congressional efforts to acknowledge and improve treatment for the large number of people with mental illnesses and substance use disorders who are currently incarcerated in U.S. jails and prisons.
According to a 2006 report by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), entitled "Mental Health Problems of Prison and Jail Inmates," more than half of the population incarcerated in U.S. prisons and jails - including 56 percent of state prisoners, 45 percent of federal prisoners and 64 percent of local jail inmates - were found to have a mental illness. Many of these inmates suffer from treatable disorders such as major depression, bipolar disorder and substance use disorder.
On November 13, the U.S. House of Representatives passed, by a vote of 347 to 62, the Second Chance Act, legislation sponsored by Congressman Danny Davis (D-Ill.). The legislation would provide transitional assistance to ex-offenders in an effort to reduce recidivism. Additionally, the legislation would extend and provide a full continuum of care for treatment of substance use disorders. The legislation also seeks to improve mental health screening and treatment and provides grants for family treatment programs. In August, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee approved similar legislation, sponsored by Senator Joseph Biden, Jr. (D-Del.).
The Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Reauthorization and Improvement Act (H.R. 3992 and S. 2304) aims to improve services for mentally ill prisoners by reauthorizing and boosting funding for a grant program that provides treatment for inmates and training for law enforcement officers who treat them. The House bill is sponsored by Representative Robert Scott (D•Va.) and the Senate bill is sponsored by Senators Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Pete Domenici (R-N.M.). On November 7, the House Judiciary Committee passed H.R. 3992, which will now head to the full House for a vote. On November 5, the Senate introduced S. 2304.
In response to the legislative actions, the APA issued the following statement:
"It is a national tragedy that jails and prisons have become the primary mental health care facilities in the United States today.
"People with mental illness, left untreated, can develop symptoms and behaviors that lead to their arrest and incarceration. Mental health and substance use disorder treatment in appropriate settings is often the answer, and adequate funding for such treatment is urgently needed.
"Ending the 'criminalization of the mentally ill' and the inappropriate incarceration of persons with mental illness could prevent unnecessary building of correctional facilities and make room for violent and repeat offenders.
"Providing more adequate funding and cooperative programs between mental health care professionals and correctional agencies is a step in the right direction. Providing these cooperative resources could, in the end, help improve overall public safety."
"We applaud the bi-partisan action taken by both the House and Senate. If enacted, the legislation would represent significant steps forward in improving access to mental health services and substance abuse treatment programs in the United States for those incarcerated within the prison system."
About the American Psychiatric Association
The American Psychiatric Association is a national medical specialty society whose more than 38,000 physician members specialize in diagnosis, treatment, prevention and research of mental illnesses including substance use disorders. Visit the APA at http://www.psych.org and http://www.HealthyMinds.org.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Article URL: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/89196.php
Main News Category: Mental Health
Also Appears In: Psychology / Psychiatry,
Psychiatric overhaul urged
Gov. Charlie Crist and the chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court called for a major overhaul of the state's mental health system on Wednesday to better address the needs of the severely mentally ill.
Crist and Chief Justice Fred Lewis released a 170-page report that lays out an ambitious plan to help the mentally ill who end up in jails and prisons because they haven't received the treatment they need.
Florida leaders say it's time to change the system to ensure that the mentally ill get the help they need before they get in trouble with the law and wind up incarcerated. Not only will it help the troubled, it will save money and better protect the public.
The report, sponsored by the Supreme Court, envisions using money now spent on mental health treatment for prisoners deemed incompetent to stand trial. Instead, those individuals would be targeted for intensive community-based mental health treatment before they get arrested.
Money for the project would also come from Medicaid, which doesn't cover people in institutions but can pay for treatment before they're institutionalized.
"What we're doing is focusing on this very small group of people who are costing the state a ton of money and are recycling through the criminal justice system," said Miami-Dade County Judge Steven Leifman, chairman of the Supreme Court's mental health subcommittee. "About 80 percent of those people can live comfortably and safely in the community."
Leifman said the project will need about $20-million in general revenue to get started, but after that, it will be able to sustain itself with Medicaid money and the $48-million now being used for the extra forensic mental health beds that he says will no longer be needed.
"You need to have the money up front to develop a system of care for them to move them into the community," he said. "We have people in there on third-degree felonies that don't have to be there."
Leifman said the plan eventually will save money. The state currently spends $250-million per year on 1,700 beds for mentally ill inmates. At this rate, the state will be spending $500-million per year by 2015.
That money is designed to restore competency to inmates so they can be tried for their crimes and then sent to jail or prison, where they continue to cost the state money.
Leifman said treating mentally sick people earlier will prevent them from becoming high-cost inmates.
Leifman led a subcommittee that studied the state's mental health system after the state Department of Children and Families found itself overburdened with the mentally ill. It got to the point the agency couldn't get inmates into treatment beds within the 15 days required by state law. In some cases, inmates languished in jails for months, straining jail guards' resources and, in some, cases harming themselves.
Hillsborough County sued the DCF in an effort to get the agency to follow the law.
Pinellas Circuit Judge Crockett Farnell threatened to fine and even jail then-DCF Secretary Lucy Hadi if she didn't follow the law.
Eventually the Legislative Budget Commission called a special meeting and allocated nearly $17-million to create more beds and $48-million annually to cover the costs.
But the Supreme Court recognized that wasn't the ultimate solution and directed a mental health subcommittee, led by Leifman, to study the issue and seek solutions.
"It's extremely positive, and it's recognizing the impact mental health issues are having on the criminal justice system," said Pinellas-Pasco Public Defender Bob Dillinger, who pushed for the DCF to
address the inmate issue last year. "It can be done in a way that eventually saves a ton of money."
But the push to revamp how Florida deals with the mentally ill is coming during one of the worst economic downturns for the state in more than a decade.
Even Chief Justice Lewis acknowledged the challenge of Florida's budget situation on Wednesday. "Today I hope we are going to discuss plans and programs and ideas that may be implemented without creating unrealistic expectations," he said.
Crist had not reviewed all the recommendations included in the report, but said that the budget situation won't keep him from pushing for changes in the mental health system.
"We have some difficult times, but my heart is there," Crist said.
Rep. Bill Galvano, a Bradenton Republican and chairman of the House committee that deals with mental-health legislation, said lawmakers would likely consider the recommendations during the 2008 session. He said that despite bad financial times it was apparent to him that the current "system is broken."
"Even in a bad economic year, it may well be worth the fight," Galvano said.
Times staff writer Chris Tisch contributed to this report.
Crist and Chief Justice Fred Lewis released a 170-page report that lays out an ambitious plan to help the mentally ill who end up in jails and prisons because they haven't received the treatment they need.
Florida leaders say it's time to change the system to ensure that the mentally ill get the help they need before they get in trouble with the law and wind up incarcerated. Not only will it help the troubled, it will save money and better protect the public.
The report, sponsored by the Supreme Court, envisions using money now spent on mental health treatment for prisoners deemed incompetent to stand trial. Instead, those individuals would be targeted for intensive community-based mental health treatment before they get arrested.
Money for the project would also come from Medicaid, which doesn't cover people in institutions but can pay for treatment before they're institutionalized.
"What we're doing is focusing on this very small group of people who are costing the state a ton of money and are recycling through the criminal justice system," said Miami-Dade County Judge Steven Leifman, chairman of the Supreme Court's mental health subcommittee. "About 80 percent of those people can live comfortably and safely in the community."
Leifman said the project will need about $20-million in general revenue to get started, but after that, it will be able to sustain itself with Medicaid money and the $48-million now being used for the extra forensic mental health beds that he says will no longer be needed.
"You need to have the money up front to develop a system of care for them to move them into the community," he said. "We have people in there on third-degree felonies that don't have to be there."
Leifman said the plan eventually will save money. The state currently spends $250-million per year on 1,700 beds for mentally ill inmates. At this rate, the state will be spending $500-million per year by 2015.
That money is designed to restore competency to inmates so they can be tried for their crimes and then sent to jail or prison, where they continue to cost the state money.
Leifman said treating mentally sick people earlier will prevent them from becoming high-cost inmates.
Leifman led a subcommittee that studied the state's mental health system after the state Department of Children and Families found itself overburdened with the mentally ill. It got to the point the agency couldn't get inmates into treatment beds within the 15 days required by state law. In some cases, inmates languished in jails for months, straining jail guards' resources and, in some, cases harming themselves.
Hillsborough County sued the DCF in an effort to get the agency to follow the law.
Pinellas Circuit Judge Crockett Farnell threatened to fine and even jail then-DCF Secretary Lucy Hadi if she didn't follow the law.
Eventually the Legislative Budget Commission called a special meeting and allocated nearly $17-million to create more beds and $48-million annually to cover the costs.
But the Supreme Court recognized that wasn't the ultimate solution and directed a mental health subcommittee, led by Leifman, to study the issue and seek solutions.
"It's extremely positive, and it's recognizing the impact mental health issues are having on the criminal justice system," said Pinellas-Pasco Public Defender Bob Dillinger, who pushed for the DCF to
address the inmate issue last year. "It can be done in a way that eventually saves a ton of money."
But the push to revamp how Florida deals with the mentally ill is coming during one of the worst economic downturns for the state in more than a decade.
Even Chief Justice Lewis acknowledged the challenge of Florida's budget situation on Wednesday. "Today I hope we are going to discuss plans and programs and ideas that may be implemented without creating unrealistic expectations," he said.
Crist had not reviewed all the recommendations included in the report, but said that the budget situation won't keep him from pushing for changes in the mental health system.
"We have some difficult times, but my heart is there," Crist said.
Rep. Bill Galvano, a Bradenton Republican and chairman of the House committee that deals with mental-health legislation, said lawmakers would likely consider the recommendations during the 2008 session. He said that despite bad financial times it was apparent to him that the current "system is broken."
"Even in a bad economic year, it may well be worth the fight," Galvano said.
Times staff writer Chris Tisch contributed to this report.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Gassed Behind Closed Doors
Michele Gillen (CBS4) Necessary discipline or cruel and unusual punishment?
A controversial practice regarding the treatment of the mentally ill in Florida's maximum security prisons has some attorneys and mental health experts raising concerns over its use.
"Here they are just gassing him. You can see they are just spraying him in the face," said Miami attorney Leon Fresco. "I would describe it as the eighth amendment does - cruel and unusual punishment."
According to lawyers representing mentally ill prisoners who have been incarcerated in Florida prisons, the state allegedly allows guards to spray inmates suffering from mental illness with chemical agents to "discipline them."
"They call these inmates bugs. They say these inmates are bugs. A bug is a term they use for a crazy person. And they gas them and it's just shocking and it's just something we can't allow it to continue anymore," said Fresco who has been investigating the treatment of the mentally ill behind bars.
"If they see behavior they don't like they gas them, just like you'd gas a bug that you don't like," said Fresco.
"They're acting out because of their mental illness and as a result of that they're being punished, pure and simple," said Randy Berg, co-counsel for Florida Justice Institute. "This certainly by anyone's definition, I think, is torture. This is a practice of the Florida Department of Corrections currently to gas known mentally ill inmates who are acting out by banging on their cells."
Jerome Maxime Thomas of Lauderhill says he prays every day that his son Jeremiah, who has been diagnosed with severe mental illness, will survive his incarceration at Starke Prison and the alleged chemical gassings he has been subjected to over a period of years, despite orders from the medical staff that he was not to be gassed given his severe mental illness.
"My son has told me he should have died many times, but the Lord has kept him alive," said Thomas, "Something must be done, because it's going too far."
Lawyers say Thomas, who was convicted of second degree murder and robbery and is scheduled to be released in 2018, has been gassed with an arsenal of chemical agents including pepper spray and CN gas, which is prohibited in many prisons because of a link to inmate deaths.
"He (Jeremiah) was gassed twice a day, sometimes as many as eight days in a row," said Berg.
After the gas, prisoners are usually asked if they would like a shower to wash the toxic chemicals. The water apparently doesn't always do the trick and some inmates suffer burns.
According to Department of Corrections written instructions guards are only allowed to use one second bursts of a chemical agent, but that rule is reportedly not always followed.
Lawyers for former inmate Curt Massie, who suffered second degree burns across his body, says he was gassed with OC and CN gas for making a funny face at a nurse who failed to give him his anxiety medication. Massie's attorneys say he has second degree burns over more than 60-percent of his body from the procedure.
Massie allegedly was gassed repeatedly in his cell despite pleading with the guards to stop. Records show that one guard admitted that his "use of force report" was altered by adding the words "kicking his cell door" to justify the use of the gas on Massie.
"From a taxpayer standpoint it makes absolutely no sense that we're wasting our resources to gas the guy, make him decompensate, send him to the hospital where we are spending tax dollars to attempt to bring him back to mental competency or stability bring them back and gas them again," said Berg.
Attorneys suing the state over the procedure have been able to obtain videotapes of a handful of gassings. Videotaping gassings was instituted to monitor the use of the chemicals but several wardens prohibited the filming.
"It's certainly inappropriate to use chemical agents for mentally ill people who are acting out solely because of their mental illness," said Berg. "We should be sympathetic to their treatment because they're going to get out. If you treat human beings like animals and literally like rats they're going to be that way when they get released to society so it's in our best interest to treat these people like human beings while they're in there."
Curt Massie was freed from prison last month. Jeremiah Thomas is set to be released in 5 years.
"I hope that someone is listening. I hope that those who are viewing will take account. And will tell themselves we can not allow this to continue," said Thomas.
"I would submit that these people are much worse off than when they went in when we release them," said Berg "and some of these people frighteningly enough get released directly from close management from solitary confinement to the street, that as a citizen frightens me quite frankly. We're making these people more and more angry, more and more mentally ill, and then releasing them directly to the street, it makes no sense."
Given the pending lawsuit against the state, the current secretary of corrections cannot discuss any particular cases involved; however, he met with Michele Gillen to address the overall policy of chemical gassing the mentally ill.
According to James McDonough, Secretary of Corrections, "We do not use chemical agents for punishment. We do not use chemical agents for discipline. We only do it to insure the security and reduction of harm."
"The fact that the videotaping was discontinued in prior administrations a concern to you:" asked Gillen.
"Enough of a concern that we have a policy that says you sure as hell better videotape," said McDonough. "We are seeing the incidents of chemical agents and physical force going down, not slightly but deeply."
A controversial practice regarding the treatment of the mentally ill in Florida's maximum security prisons has some attorneys and mental health experts raising concerns over its use.
"Here they are just gassing him. You can see they are just spraying him in the face," said Miami attorney Leon Fresco. "I would describe it as the eighth amendment does - cruel and unusual punishment."
According to lawyers representing mentally ill prisoners who have been incarcerated in Florida prisons, the state allegedly allows guards to spray inmates suffering from mental illness with chemical agents to "discipline them."
"They call these inmates bugs. They say these inmates are bugs. A bug is a term they use for a crazy person. And they gas them and it's just shocking and it's just something we can't allow it to continue anymore," said Fresco who has been investigating the treatment of the mentally ill behind bars.
"If they see behavior they don't like they gas them, just like you'd gas a bug that you don't like," said Fresco.
"They're acting out because of their mental illness and as a result of that they're being punished, pure and simple," said Randy Berg, co-counsel for Florida Justice Institute. "This certainly by anyone's definition, I think, is torture. This is a practice of the Florida Department of Corrections currently to gas known mentally ill inmates who are acting out by banging on their cells."
Jerome Maxime Thomas of Lauderhill says he prays every day that his son Jeremiah, who has been diagnosed with severe mental illness, will survive his incarceration at Starke Prison and the alleged chemical gassings he has been subjected to over a period of years, despite orders from the medical staff that he was not to be gassed given his severe mental illness.
"My son has told me he should have died many times, but the Lord has kept him alive," said Thomas, "Something must be done, because it's going too far."
Lawyers say Thomas, who was convicted of second degree murder and robbery and is scheduled to be released in 2018, has been gassed with an arsenal of chemical agents including pepper spray and CN gas, which is prohibited in many prisons because of a link to inmate deaths.
"He (Jeremiah) was gassed twice a day, sometimes as many as eight days in a row," said Berg.
After the gas, prisoners are usually asked if they would like a shower to wash the toxic chemicals. The water apparently doesn't always do the trick and some inmates suffer burns.
According to Department of Corrections written instructions guards are only allowed to use one second bursts of a chemical agent, but that rule is reportedly not always followed.
Lawyers for former inmate Curt Massie, who suffered second degree burns across his body, says he was gassed with OC and CN gas for making a funny face at a nurse who failed to give him his anxiety medication. Massie's attorneys say he has second degree burns over more than 60-percent of his body from the procedure.
Massie allegedly was gassed repeatedly in his cell despite pleading with the guards to stop. Records show that one guard admitted that his "use of force report" was altered by adding the words "kicking his cell door" to justify the use of the gas on Massie.
"From a taxpayer standpoint it makes absolutely no sense that we're wasting our resources to gas the guy, make him decompensate, send him to the hospital where we are spending tax dollars to attempt to bring him back to mental competency or stability bring them back and gas them again," said Berg.
Attorneys suing the state over the procedure have been able to obtain videotapes of a handful of gassings. Videotaping gassings was instituted to monitor the use of the chemicals but several wardens prohibited the filming.
"It's certainly inappropriate to use chemical agents for mentally ill people who are acting out solely because of their mental illness," said Berg. "We should be sympathetic to their treatment because they're going to get out. If you treat human beings like animals and literally like rats they're going to be that way when they get released to society so it's in our best interest to treat these people like human beings while they're in there."
Curt Massie was freed from prison last month. Jeremiah Thomas is set to be released in 5 years.
"I hope that someone is listening. I hope that those who are viewing will take account. And will tell themselves we can not allow this to continue," said Thomas.
"I would submit that these people are much worse off than when they went in when we release them," said Berg "and some of these people frighteningly enough get released directly from close management from solitary confinement to the street, that as a citizen frightens me quite frankly. We're making these people more and more angry, more and more mentally ill, and then releasing them directly to the street, it makes no sense."
Given the pending lawsuit against the state, the current secretary of corrections cannot discuss any particular cases involved; however, he met with Michele Gillen to address the overall policy of chemical gassing the mentally ill.
According to James McDonough, Secretary of Corrections, "We do not use chemical agents for punishment. We do not use chemical agents for discipline. We only do it to insure the security and reduction of harm."
"The fact that the videotaping was discontinued in prior administrations a concern to you:" asked Gillen.
"Enough of a concern that we have a policy that says you sure as hell better videotape," said McDonough. "We are seeing the incidents of chemical agents and physical force going down, not slightly but deeply."
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