Hola mes amis!
"From: C. E. "Sonny" Scroggins, National Action Network, Bias Busters of
Kansas
Subject: Donna L Walker

Topeka, Kansas...........September 8, 2003, 11:00am at the Indian Trails
Mental Health Living Center, Inc., there will be a Mental Health Summit to
discuss the challenges and suffering face by the mentally ill in Kansas and
across America, our Guest Speaker is Mr.Terry Abel, Social Services Designee
for Indian Trails Mental Health Living Center. The National Action
Network/Bias Busters of Kansas will continue it's protest outside the
Shawnee County Court House on September 9, 2003, at 9:00am, the public is
invited to participate.

According to the Department of Corrections of Oklahoma, 20 percent of the
male inmate population and 60 percent of women inmates will show signs of
mental illness.

Prison and jail officials also admit there's a problem housing an increase
number of mentally ill offenders, people with mental and physical illnesses
are having a difficult time.

We think the government across America needs to open mental institutions
back up, and that jails and prisons aren't equipped to handle them.

Budget shortfalls forced mental institutions across America to close, more
mentally ill are being booked in and out of jail, efforts are under way to
contact the ACLU."
As always, feel free to copy and share, as well. "Painting is
poetry which is seen and not heard, and poetry is a painting which is heard
but not seen." ~ Leonardo da Vinci "Prison is designed to break everyone's
spirit and destroy one's resolve. To do this, the authorities attempt to
exploit every weakness, demolish every initiative, negate all signs of
individuality, all
with the idea of stamping out that spark that makes each of us human and
each of us who we are." ~ Nelson Mandela You can visit our website
3rd Version of the Stolen Lives Book >CONTACT: Office@october22.org or
call 1-888-NO >BRUTALITY >SF Bay Area: Oct22sf@energy-net.org
>415 864-5153." www.deathpenaltyreligious.org and link from there.
CRU, American Friends Service Committee 215-241-7137
bmatschek@afsc.org Moratorium Campaign Supporter, click the link
below to send your message today
http://www.capwiz.com/moratorium/issues/alert/?alertid=1235911&type=CO
Visit the web site http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/
Visit <http://www.cuadp.org> or call 800-973-6548
http://www.progressiveportal.org/letters/deathpenalty/
http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/ctt.asp?u=253792&l=1996
http://www.peaceforall.com
http://www.freedonation.com
http://www.PetitionPetition.com
http://www.e-thepeople.com http://www.speakout.com
http://www.petitiononline.com http://www.alphacdc.com
http://www.progressivesecretary.org
http://www.workingforchange.com
http://www.actionize.com
http://www.halftheplanet.com
http://www.causeaneffect.org
Helpsites and places where twigs of poetree grow
http://www.clearlandmines.com
http://www.giveaminute.org/
"http://www.buildaschool.org"
Metaphorical Poet
http://pub103.ezboard.com/bthemetaphoricalpoet
Autumn Leaves is in cyberspace now
http://www.sondra.net/al/
Enjoy a estival eve' as you can. Ciao, for now. i look forward.... What
do you think? Viva la evolution, viva green party. james m nordlund

Although I feel that psychiatric treatment should be an option to anybody who desires it, a mental hospital is NO place for a criminal. There are people who are there involantarily in some cases who have not been involved with the criminal justice system. Those individuals should NOT have to live with convicted felons, or those who are under indightment for felonies or gross misdemeaners. Furthermore, when a crime is comitted by a patient, that patient MUST be charged appropriately, removed from the facility IMMEDIATELY and booked into a real JAIL or PRISON to face REAL CHARGES. REGARDLESS of whether said patient was there volantrily or not.

There is a need in the prison system, however, for better treatment of medical needs. Many prisons do have psychiatric units that are able to meet the needs of convicts who are in need of treatment. An improvement in that area is most certainly needed within the criminal justice system.

MrCoffee

Caro MrCoffee,

Hola! Thanx for your thoughtful responses! As always, feel free to copy and share, as well. "Prison is designed to break everyone's
spirit and destroy one's resolve. To do this, the authorities attempt to
exploit every weakness, demolish every initiative, negate all signs of
individuality, all
with the idea of stamping out that spark that makes each of us human and
each of us who we are." ~ Nelson Mandela You can visit our website : )
3rd Version of the Stolen Lives Book :) >CONTACT: Office@october22.org or
call 1-888-NO >BRUTALITY >SF Bay Area: Oct22sf@energy-net.org
>415 864-5153." www.deathpenaltyreligious.org and link from there.
CRU, American Friends Service Committee 215-241-7137
bmatschek@afsc.org Moratorium Campaign Supporter, click the link
below to send your message today :)
http://www.capwiz.com/moratorium/issues/alert/?alertid=1235911&type=CO
Visit the web site http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/
Visit <http://www.cuadp.org> or call 800-973-6548
http://www.progressiveportal.org/letters/deathpenalty/
http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/ctt.asp?u=253792&l=1996
Enjoy a estival eve' as you can. Ciao, for now. i look forward.... What
do you think? Viva la evolution, viva green party. james m nordlund
reality (aja) :)

Dear All,

Heah! Another recent related article :) State: Special prison needed for mentally ill
Budget shortfall makes building project unlikely in
near future

Chris Butler / The Idaho Statesman.
State prison officials want to build a new $17.9
million prison specifically
for mentally ill inmates and those with special
medical needs. Such inmates
are now held at the Idaho Maximum Security
Institution, pictured here.

. Issues with mentally ill inmates
. How construction projects are funded
. What Correction is requesting

. Council of State Government's Criminal
Justice/Mental Health Consensus
Project

Wayne Hoffman
The Idaho Statesman

State prison operators say taxpayers should pay $17.9
million to build a
special prison for mentally ill inmates and those with
medical problems.
Advocates for prison inmates would be happy to see
one, although
representatives of people with mental illnesses say
Idaho probably wouldn´t
need it if the state hadn´t abolished the insanity
defense 21 years ago.

Either way, odds are the state will have to do without
- there´s virtually
no state money to build a prison - and the state´s
problem of housing this
select set of prisoners will continue to compound.

"I don´t think (the proposal) is going to happen, not
this year," said Boise
Republican Rep. Max Black, who serves on a panel that
will recommend how the
state should spend about $30 million available for all
state capital
improvement projects. Most of that money is spoken for
already, and state
agencies are expected to submit $300 million worth of
suggestions on how to
use the $5 million that might be left over for new
construction.

Idaho Department of Correction Director Tom Beauclair
said the prison is his
No. 1 priority, and he, too, will be lobbying for a
share of the cash.

"This has been a looming problem for a long time,"
Beauclair said.

A growing need

The number of inmates with mental-health problems has
grown in recent years,
as has the total prison population.

Mentally ill inmates "pose a serious security concern"
and are "vulnerable
to the general inmate population," Beauclair said.

Almost 1,000 inmates - roughly 16 percent of the total
state prison
population - have some form of mental illness,
according to the department.
That number, comparable to the national average, has
consistently grown in
recent years, forcing the agency to deal with
everything from psychosis to
depression among prisoners.

The agency did not have a more detailed accounting of
the illness of its
inmates.

But according to the department, inmates with
mental-health issues are at
any given time the prison´s most dangerous or the most
vulnerable; they
either instigate violence, are subjected to it or are
manipulated by other
inmates, the agency said.

About 85 of the most dangerous mentally ill inmates
are housed at the
state´s maximum security prison, "basically in
isolation," said Beauclair.
These prisoners receive little in the way of
treatment. Other mentally ill
prisoners are scattered throughout the prison system,
mixed in with a
general prison population at eight other institutions.

Maximum security´s mental ill inmates pose the
prison´s biggest security
risk among about 550 prisoners. According to
department records, corrections
officers had to use force on maximum security inmates
66 times between July
1, 2001, and June 30, 2002. Of those incidents, 53
involved mentally ill
inmates.

Correction officers used force 82 times to subdue
inmates between July 1,
2002, and June 30, 2003. More than half of those
incidents involved mentally
ill prisoners.

And while the number of people entering prison has
flattened, the number of
inmates on psychotropic drugs - medicines for mental
illnesses - continues
to increase. The number of prisoners treated with
drugs is one of the best
ways to gauge the extent of mental illness in the
institutions, and is used
as a measuring stick by prison officials and other
groups that monitor
prison populations.

According to the department, out of a statewide prison
population of about
5,800, about 989 inmates were on psychotropic
medications in July 2003. That
compares to 897 inmates receiving that type of care a
year ago.

Is the law to blame?

Lee Woodland supports the concept of a special prison
for mentally ill
inmates.

"A regular prison is not a good setting for people
with mental illnesses,"
said Woodland, executive director of Idaho´s chapter
of the National
Alliance for the Mentally Ill.

But Woodland said the state would do better to again
allow defendants to use
an insanity plea.

Idaho abolished the statute in 1982 in response to the
acquittal of John
Hinckley Jr., who shot President Reagan and three
others in Washington,
D.C., a year earlier. Only Montana and Utah have
followed suit and abolished
the insanity defense. According to the National
Conference of State
Legislatures, another 16 states have laws that permit
a guilty plea that
lets the court take notice of a defendant´s mental
illness.

"We´ve had nothing but problems" since the law was
eliminated in Idaho,
Woodland said. While Woodland acknowledges criminals
need to be imprisoned,
the law makes no distinction for people who should
instead be hospitalized.

David Leroy, who was Idaho´s attorney general at the
time and backed
abolishment of the insanity defense law, still
supports that move.

"You don´t do anybody in society a favor, in my
opinion, by warehousing
(convicted criminals in a hospital) for a longer
period of time when they
could have been incarcerated for a crime," Leroy said.

But he said the state should be providing treatment to
mentally-ill inmates,
and the state is failing in its responsibility if it
is not. He said he
supports construction of a special prison.

Although lawyers have challenged the constitutionality
of the statute, it
has been upheld in court.

How the law has affected the prison population isn´t
readily apparent. There
is no precise gauge.

In 2000, about 19 percent of Idaho inmates were
receiving psychotropic
drugs, according to the U.S. Bureau of Justice
Statistics. That same year,
Montana and Utah reported 21.4 percent and 19.8
percent, respectively.

Still, other states that allow for an insanity defense
had both higher and
lower percentages of inmates taking drugs to treat
mental illnesses,
according to the bureau´s data. Among those states,
North Dakota reported
the highest percentage of inmates on medication for
mental illness at 40
percent.

At the same time, the percentage of Idaho inmates
receiving counseling and
other therapy was about 14 percent, according to the
federal agencies.
That´s consistent with many other states nationwide.

State practices vary

While statistics may not yield the answers, what is
true, according to the
Council of State Government´s Criminal Justice/Mental
Health Consensus
Project, is that inmates tend to do better when
specialized treatment and
housing centers are available.

The project noted that inmates who are subjected to
the general prison
population suffer in that setting and "are likely to
incur disciplinary
infractions, which in turn prompts their reassignment
to segregation cells,
where their mental health is likely to deteriorate
still further and more
rapidly."

However, allowing inmates to join the general inmate
population "reduces the
stigma associated with mental illness," the group´s
report says.

The project suggests that states should have both
types of prison
environments for prisoners, allowing administrators to
decide what´s best
for each inmate.

Practices across the country vary widely, according to
a December survey of
states by the National Institute of Corrections.

That group found that all but two departments of
correction nationwide had
separate housing for mentally ill inmates. Separate
mental-health prisons
are provided in 15 states, but most corrections
agencies have, at the least,
separate units for mental-health prisoners.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Denton Darrington of Declo,
who also serves on the
committee that recommends building projects, said the
state needs a
mental-health prison to segregate mental-health
prisoners from the rest of
the prison population.

"There isn´t any question about it," Darrington said.
"They have different
needs" from other prisoners.

But all state agencies have needs. As part of his own
budget request, Gov.
Dirk Kempthorne will have to look through those
proposals and see which is
the most pressing concern.

"We certainly understand the need for that type of
facility," Kempthorne
Chief of Staff Brian Whitlock said. But Whitlock said
the prison will have
to be weighed along with agency proposals statewide.
The requests go to the
governor in the fall.

At the same time, much of the $30 million in a special
construction account
is almost already spent. A chunk of the money will go
to pay back long-term
debts on existing projects. Another chunk will have to
be used for
maintenance and upkeep on existing buildings. After
that, there´s only
likely to be around $5 million available to spend.
That means lawmakers
would have to pay for the $17.9 million prison over
time or use general fund
money, which is unlikely to happen because of the
state´s financial
problems.

What´s more, costs to operate the prison once it is
built are expected to be
"significantly higher" than for a similarly-sized
prison, according to the
department. The National Institute of Corrections said
it generally takes
more staff to supervise and treat prisoners who are
mentally ill.

But Beauclair said the project is worth it. As head of
the state´s
correction agency, he plans to make lawmakers aware of
his department´s
needs.

"My intention is to pursue it," Beauclair said. "I
will push for this."

To offer story ideas or comments, contact Wayne
Hoffman
whoffman@idahostatesman.com or 377-6416

Edition Date: 08-30-2003

I do tend to feel that Idaho's idea of a facility especially designed for inmates who have mental illnesses is a good idea. It would amount to an improvement in assesment and treatment for inmates who need the help.

While the medical profession will argue that prison is not a place for the mentally ill, there are still plenty of bad apples. Such a facility will allow treatment for an imate's condition, yet will still ensure that a sentence is served in an appropriate place.

MrCoffee

Caro Mr. C,

Hola! Thanx for the response!

I know Im late posting here, but this was a argument that I have had for a long time. They abolished mental health wards, stating that they can put people in the community without a good plan. So they stuck all these people out here, which is great, if they had support, which alot didnt. Then they reduced staffing in the mental health wards, as well as beds. Then... OH MY GOSH.... no support, no beds, people with mental illnesses acting out, so lets use the prison systems as the old mental health wards, that dont know how to cope with people with a mental illness, as they have no professional staff to do this. THEN... these people get lost in the system. It is all so wrong!!! So to cut a long story short, they are now using prisons for people with mental illnesses. That has been my fight for so long.

Cara Kayla,

So true! I just saw a propgram on CNN that showed the middle to poor classes are religated to prisons instead of getting community based mental health services, by the over zealous and lazy police. Whereas, uppper-middle and up get the hekp needed because they can afford it, and, more importantly, they could afford lawyers to sue the police for abuses. I'm working on this too, thanx for all you do. An excellent resource with other linx is :) www.Mindfreedom.org

I have a degree in forensic mental health, and I see it all the time. My own husband was railroaded by the prison system here, with shizophrenia (that is one of the reasons I ended up with my degree). I was so disgusted, I wasnt allowed to help him cause of conflict of interests and such, but I was fortunate I knew the system to get him out, though it took me 4 months. The things is, I know it happens, cause I have so many people in the prison system as clients that shouldnt be there. Like the mental health ward where we live went from 800 beds to 14... THEN they go and build a new high tech high security new prison. Most of the people that accomated those 800 beds in mental health, are now sitting in a high security prison where they dont belong. The whole thing sickens me to death. One day I want to change a horrible system, I know it is like this worldwide to. I guess they had to justify there new prison by filling it up, even with mentally ill people.

Cara Kyla,

Hola! Yes, I agree! Thanx for all you do. In my posted reply of 8-30-03 above, I list some linx to orgs. that are doing excellent work in your field of advocacy and others.

I totally agree. I do not think that people with these disorders should be placed in an adult prsion. They need to be housed in a speical unit

My younger sister was convicted of 2nd degree murder. of our mother last year(I have good reasons to believe she may have been framed). In the state of Virginia(known for its heavy-handed "justice")it is bad news if you get caught up in the "justice" system). My sister, who was on Paxil, and was in terrible withdrawl..has few memories of the event, which led to our mother's death. Neither of these people had ever been violent before, but for some reason, our mother slapped her very hard on her face, and then they went into combat. My sister remembers little, from before, during, and since the horrible tragedy. She has few memories, and doesn't even know why a conflict they had happened. Both were on Paxil, for different reasons...my mother for OCD and sister, for severe , major depression. She has several personality disorders too. She is disabled due to these problems, and weak nerves by social security. She needs mental and physical care, not prison. I fear at sentencing very soon, the same judge who convicted her(if she did do it, it was an accidental homicide)he will give her time, and I know for a fact she will not survive. She is barely holding up now in jail. She had cancer(breast)cancer surgery no more than 6 months ago, the invasive kind, and a large one...extensive radiation, and the cancer may even be returning. The prosecutor destroyed her credibility, and did this with the mental issues she has. It was a horrible, biased, and unfair trial. I am worried sick about her. The judge showed her no mercy or concern, and I have no reason to think he will at sentencing. I have done, and am doing everything I can find to help her. I loved my mother, but I know my sister, she never had any intention of harming anyone. She has no criminal history, and is basically a caring, loving person. BUT since she lived with our mother at the time, the police would not look at anyone else. I have suspicions about others than her, but noone would look any further, once they nailed her. .

Dear NOMI,

Ola! Very true! You've posted an Excellent Example, Thanx! My heart goes out to you and your family. In many cases, that is exactly what happens. A person who doesn't belong incacerated is because the injustice system is set-up to perpetuate the continual growth of the prison industrial complex! It has little to do with justice, protecting society, and almost nothing to do compassion for society, or the welfare of any of the individuals involved. As always, feel free to copy and share, as well. "Prison is designed to break everyone's spirit and destroy one's resolve. To do this, the authorities attempt to exploit every weakness, demolish every initiative, negate all signs of individuality, all with the idea of stamping out that spark that makes each of us human and each of us who we are." ~ Nelson Mandela You can visit our website : ) 3rd Version of the Stolen Lives Book >CONTACT: Office@october22.org or call 1-888-NO >BRUTALITY >SF Bay Area: Oct22sf@energy-net.org
>415 864-5153." www.deathpenaltyreligious.org and link from there. CRU, American Friends Service Committee 215-241-7137 bmatschek@afsc.org Moratorium Campaign Supporter, click the link below to send your message today
http://www.capwiz.com/moratorium/is...1235911&type=CO
Visit the web site http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/
Visit <http://www.cuadp.org> or call 800-973-6548
http://www.progressiveportal.org/letters/deathpenalty/
http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/ct...u=253792&l=1996
Enjoy a estival eve' as you can. Ciao, for now. i look forward.... What do you think? Viva la evolution, viva green party. james m nordlund
reality (aja)

Thank-you for those links & I totally agree with ya Kara!!!