RE: Civil Division Case No: 2015-024067 CA 01, West Court Condominium vs. George C.
Mallinckrodt
Human
Rights Activist Faces Foreclosure
When I
became a human rights activist upon learning of the scalding death of Darren
Rainey in the Florida
state prison psychiatric unit where I once worked, I was unprepared for the
personal and financial sacrifices that would confront me in the three and a
half years that followed. In deciding that the humane treatment of the mentally
ill would be my life's work, I passed the point of no return long ago.
Unfortunately,
I've been unable to pay maintenance on my condominium with any regularity. I am
some $3000 behind and am facing a court date on February 18th to start the
foreclosure process. I am not asking for your pity. I am only asking for the
understanding that I have no choice but to continue to make a difference in the
lives of those suffering mental illness. As a psychotherapist, I can't imagine
not doing this important work. For me, human rights is not a hobby—it's
full-time 50 hours a week work. And that's a light week.
If
everyone who read this blog donated just $10, my campaign would be funded
through the summer—$20 might sustain me to the end of the year considering my
bare-to-the-bones cutbacks. I've provided an address where checks may be sent
and a link to PayPal for those who prefer a credit card. Please share this
blog with your friends.
I am
desperate. I need your help to continue to be the voice for those who have no
voice. I can't sit by while severely mentally ill men and women continue to be
brutalized in our jails and prisons. Three days ago I was contacted by a woman
whose brother had been murdered by correctional officers who made it look like
a suicide. This is the third such suspicious death within the last 12 months
that I've been personally informed of by grief stricken relatives. Hearing
these and other accounts of brutality leave me no choice but to carry on.
For
those interested, I've provided a framework below to explain more specifically
what my human rights campaign is trying to accomplish.
Thank
you for your generous support,
George
Mallinckrodt
Miami Beach, FL
33239
Campaign
Explanation
The United States
is experiencing a mental health crisis of unprecedented magnitude. Ten times
more severely mentally ill people are incarcerated than are in state
psychiatric hospitals. Forty percent of all individuals suffering severe mental
health issues will have spent time in lockup. Those suffering severe mental
illness are three times more likely to end up in prison than in a mental health
treatment facility. The mentally ill are leaving our prisons and jails
significantly worse off than when they entered. If they make it out!
The
lack of a strong national mental health policy has resulted in a de facto
return to the Middle Ages. The severely mentally ill are being rounded up and
thrown into prisons to be tormented, beaten, gassed, electrocuted, tortured,
and killed. Closures of psychiatric and community mental health facilities
beginning in the 1960s combined with no follow-up plan for the severely mentally
ill resulted in a mass transition to prisons layered with institutional
brutality. The mentally ill are subjected to conditions far inferior to the
atrocious psychiatric wards of yesteryear.
My
campaign will strive to end mass incarceration of the severely mentally ill by
encouraging legislators to enact money saving legislation that will provide
humane, meaningful mental health treatment. The cost of incarcerating the
mentally ill is roughly double that of accommodating them in residential treatment
centers. Equally important, funding community mental health programs reduces
our bloated prison population.
As a
result of recent high profile coverage of police and prison brutality, the
public has never been more receptive to hearing from those who have witnessed
prison brutality firsthand. I intend to capitalize on this opportunity by
educating citizens about the horrific treatment mentally ill inmates receive
and the means to improve conditions of confinement. Every single day, the
mentally ill suffer wholesale maltreatment and cruel and unusual punishment.
To cut
the supply of the severely mentally ill into our prisons, I will encourage
lawmakers to fund state and community mental health facilities in addition to
enacting school based initiatives. Early treatment in children's lives
increases the probability of successful outcomes. Matching at-risk youth with
appropriate mental health treatment is problematic given very few school
systems provide these essential safety nets. Every child helped is one who
avoids a justice system that criminalizes mental illness.
Treating
the mentally ill in prison is last ditch effort that will never compare
favorably with community based treatment unless strong measures are taken to
provide humane treatment alternatives within our prison systems. Navigating
layers of prison complexity is difficult for anyone. For the severely mentally
ill, prison can be a frightfully overwhelming experience. Many patients on my
caseload suffered the withholding of food, taunting, tormenting, and beatings.
Excessive and malicious violence by prison guards jeopardized treatment
outcomes and sabotaged my work as a psychotherapist.
Despite
attempts by the Florida Department of Corrections to improve conditions,
meaningful mental health treatment is a shaky proposition at best given the
entrenched culture of brutality. In order to provide safe and effective mental
health services to those already in our prisons, a new approach is necessary.
To facilitate humane mental health treatment, carefully tailored institutional
interventions to transition the mentally ill into specially designed facilities
must occur. Every man or woman who has a successful treatment outcome is one
less likely to end up back in prison.
Currently,
there are too few jail diversion and drug court programs available to divert
the mentally ill and those with co-occurring substance abuse issues into
community mental health treatment facilities. Diversion programs in San Antonio, Miami, and Ft. Lauderdale
have reduced local jail populations to the point that jail closures have saved
millions in tax dollars. Every major populated county in our country should
have diversion programs based on successful models already in existence. These
programs would provide yet another win-win outcome by saving tax dollars while
reducing the mass incarceration of the mentally ill.
In
summary, efforts to reduce the mass incarceration of the mentally ill in our
prisons and jails require simultaneous action on a number of fronts. It is of paramount
importance to focus on strengthening and providing treatment to the mentally
ill before they come in contact with the criminal justice system. School and
community based programs are essential to providing early intervention to
children and young adults whose chance of positive outcomes is greatest. Jail
diversion programs and drug courts can provide local community treatment
alternatives to incarceration. Those already incarcerated would benefit from
humane treatment programs that would increase the odds of recovery while
reducing recidivism.
