JJT
05-10-2004, 05:52 PM
The media is very quick to produce stories that are incomplete, slanted and sensationalized. I have no respect for the media.
The author of this article brings up some valid points.
The overarching issue here is whether or not Owens should have even been in a prison setting. But Oregonians have left themselves with no choice.
Our state corrections officers are highly trained, skilled public safety personnel. …they are not trained mental health professionals.
…corrections officers are never made officially aware of an inmate's diagnosis, be it mental illness or a physical illness such as HIV or AIDS.
Don Loving: Another side to the inmate death story
Monday, May 10, 2004
DON LOVING
As the organization that represents most state prison corrections officers across Oregon, we strongly object to the tone of the April 30 news story in The Oregonian, "Family files suit in death of inmate at Snake River prison." Moreover, we hope the publicity from this tragedy brings about change in the system.
To say that Billy Owens, an inmate with a long history of mental illness, "died at the hands of correctional officers" paints a very tainted truth. Owens was a huge man physically, and it legitimately took five officers to restrain him when he was engaged in one of his "episodes."
In this case, he was extracted from his cell, following Department of Corrections procedures, in an effort to stop a suicide attempt. But one must also understand Billy Owens' history to have a full perspective. One of his favorite ploys was to lay in his cell motionless, "playing possum," and then attack officers who came to check on him. Mental illness not withstanding, Owens presented a constant danger to the officers assigned to oversee him.
The idea that officers laughed, chatted and/or applauded "as Owens lay dying" is greatly exaggerated, and very much taken out of context. Much has been made about a nurse kissing an officer, as though a couple was engaged in some romantic interlude while a man lay dying. In fact, this "kiss" was no more than quick moment of release after a traumatic event, in much the same way most of us hug a loved one at a funeral.
The overarching issue here is whether or not Owens should have even been in a prison setting. But Oregonians have left themselves with no choice. We closed a state mental facility in Pendleton years ago; it's now a prison. We've closed Dammasch State Hospital in Wilsonville, and we've closed Fairview Training Center in Salem. The one facility we have left, Oregon State Hospital, is relatively ancient, understaffed and overcrowded. Remember, OSH was chosen to "host" the movie "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" -- and that was in the 1970s. Its situation has not miraculously gotten better in the past 30 years.
The mentally ill do not belong in our prison system. Our state corrections officers are highly trained, skilled public safety personnel. They are not "prison guards" from some B movie. But they will be the first to tell you that they are not trained mental health professionals.
When a person enters a correctional institution, he or she is expected to follow certain rules and procedures. Those who don' t are held accountable with time in a variety of segregation units. Is this the best treatment for those with mental illness? No. But don't blame the officers for merely doing their job. They are instructed to treat all inmates the same way. Ironically, while inmates lose many rights while incarcerated, they maintain their medical privacy rights. This means that corrections officers are never made officially aware of an inmate's diagnosis, be it mental illness or a physical illness such as HIV or AIDS.
Billy Owens' death was a tragedy that likely could have been avoided. But don't blame the officers involved. It sounds like a cliché, but blame "the system." It needs to change.
Don Loving is public affairs director in Portland for Oregon Council 75 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
The author of this article brings up some valid points.
The overarching issue here is whether or not Owens should have even been in a prison setting. But Oregonians have left themselves with no choice.
Our state corrections officers are highly trained, skilled public safety personnel. …they are not trained mental health professionals.
…corrections officers are never made officially aware of an inmate's diagnosis, be it mental illness or a physical illness such as HIV or AIDS.
Don Loving: Another side to the inmate death story
Monday, May 10, 2004
DON LOVING
As the organization that represents most state prison corrections officers across Oregon, we strongly object to the tone of the April 30 news story in The Oregonian, "Family files suit in death of inmate at Snake River prison." Moreover, we hope the publicity from this tragedy brings about change in the system.
To say that Billy Owens, an inmate with a long history of mental illness, "died at the hands of correctional officers" paints a very tainted truth. Owens was a huge man physically, and it legitimately took five officers to restrain him when he was engaged in one of his "episodes."
In this case, he was extracted from his cell, following Department of Corrections procedures, in an effort to stop a suicide attempt. But one must also understand Billy Owens' history to have a full perspective. One of his favorite ploys was to lay in his cell motionless, "playing possum," and then attack officers who came to check on him. Mental illness not withstanding, Owens presented a constant danger to the officers assigned to oversee him.
The idea that officers laughed, chatted and/or applauded "as Owens lay dying" is greatly exaggerated, and very much taken out of context. Much has been made about a nurse kissing an officer, as though a couple was engaged in some romantic interlude while a man lay dying. In fact, this "kiss" was no more than quick moment of release after a traumatic event, in much the same way most of us hug a loved one at a funeral.
The overarching issue here is whether or not Owens should have even been in a prison setting. But Oregonians have left themselves with no choice. We closed a state mental facility in Pendleton years ago; it's now a prison. We've closed Dammasch State Hospital in Wilsonville, and we've closed Fairview Training Center in Salem. The one facility we have left, Oregon State Hospital, is relatively ancient, understaffed and overcrowded. Remember, OSH was chosen to "host" the movie "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" -- and that was in the 1970s. Its situation has not miraculously gotten better in the past 30 years.
The mentally ill do not belong in our prison system. Our state corrections officers are highly trained, skilled public safety personnel. They are not "prison guards" from some B movie. But they will be the first to tell you that they are not trained mental health professionals.
When a person enters a correctional institution, he or she is expected to follow certain rules and procedures. Those who don' t are held accountable with time in a variety of segregation units. Is this the best treatment for those with mental illness? No. But don't blame the officers for merely doing their job. They are instructed to treat all inmates the same way. Ironically, while inmates lose many rights while incarcerated, they maintain their medical privacy rights. This means that corrections officers are never made officially aware of an inmate's diagnosis, be it mental illness or a physical illness such as HIV or AIDS.
Billy Owens' death was a tragedy that likely could have been avoided. But don't blame the officers involved. It sounds like a cliché, but blame "the system." It needs to change.
Don Loving is public affairs director in Portland for Oregon Council 75 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.