Judge rules against gassing Florida's mentally ill inmates. Disturbing video.

[madfloridian]

Hat tip to FLA Politics blog for this tidbit.

"State should stop cruel and unusual punishment"

"When federal Judge Timothy J. Corrigan ruled three weeks ago that spraying mentally ill inmates with skin-blistering chemicals violates the Constitution's ban against cruel and unusual punishment, it seemed that Florida might finally put an end to a horrible, unnecessary practice. Instead, the state is fighting the ruling." "Sick policy: Gassing mentally ill inmates".

Instead of trying to do the right thing, the humane thing...they continue the gassing and moved the two inmates involved in the ruling to another facility.

From a Miami Herald editorial:

Sick policy: Gassing mentally ill inmates

When federal Judge Timothy J. Corrigan ruled three weeks ago that spraying mentally ill inmates with skin-blistering chemicals violates the Constitution's ban against cruel and unusual punishment, it seemed that Florida might finally put an end to a horrible, unnecessary practice. Instead, the state is fighting the ruling. The rationale? Two of the inmates have now been transferred to a safer facility. Meanwhile, the shameful practice of using pepper spray to subdue mentally ill inmates for misbehaving continues at Florida State Prison.

Poignant video report

In his ruling, Judge Corrigan asked that the Department of Corrections and Attorney General Bill McCollum work with lawyers for the plaintiffs to resolve the issue and report back to him by Feb. 10. Instead, the state filed a response saying: ''Past exposure to alleged illegal conduct does not in itself show a present case or controversy regarding injunctive relief.'' In other words: Evidence of past alleged illegal conduct is no proof of current activities that warrant the court's sanction.

An investigative report in November 2007 by WFOR-CBS4, The Miami Herald's television partner, showed how guards at the prison blasted inmates with pepper spray because they refused to stop yelling or banging on the cell doors. The report shows how a thick cloud of the spray quickly fills an inmate's tiny cell, rendering him helpless. To see CBS4's online video report, go to http://cbs4.com/iteam/gasprisons.james.2.592189.html.

Judge Corrigan found that the spraying was inappropriate for two inmates who, because of their mental illness, did not understand the guards' orders to stop screaming and banging on the cell door. He found that four other mentally ill inmates who were sprayed did have the capacity to understand the orders.

Here is the direct link to the video and another article. The new director, James McDonough, has reinstated the video taping and is speaking out.

From CBS4 website, the video is disturbing indeed.

http://cbs4.com/iteam/gasprisons.james.2.592189.html

* Gassed Behind Closed Doors (11/20/2007)

His department facing a lawsuit for a policy which allows guards to chemically gas mentally ill inmates, the head of Florida's Department of Corrections is speaking out about the prison system he inherited which is mired in abuse.

James McDonough, a retired army colonel, took over the reigns of the state's corrections department from James Crosby, who is now in a federal prison convicted on corruption charges and serving an 8-year sentence. He's the same man who previously was in charge as warden of Starke when the incidence of the controversial practice of chemically gassing inmates, including the spraying of the mentally ill, began to balloon.

"When your predecessor leaves you a room that is blocked off with crime tape, you get a hint you got a problem," said McDonough.

Documenting the gassings by videotape ended under Crosby.

Sorry but this is going way too far. This is thorough coverage by this station, kudos to them. Still disturbing.

[elleng]

1. can't read

.

[madfloridian]

6. It's not a comfortable read.

I am just glad to see it get into a mainstream source.

[Rabrrrrrr]

2. What? Corruption, violence, and cruelty toward "the other" in a southern Bible-believing state?

I don't believe it.

[ColbertWatcher]

3. Who Would Jesus Gas? n/t

[madfloridian]

7. There's a lot of cruelty toward others in those states of which you speak.

The religious zeal is not always kind, and punishment doled out can be hard.

[madrchsod]

4. what the fuck.....

my wife deals with mentally handicapped autistic adults who become violent...she certainly does`t spray them with chemicals. she uses her mind and another person if necessary to control the situation. another facility here that handles the most extreme cases use two-three people with restraints.

i would say it is unbelievable but from what i have been told about florida`s social services i`m not surprised

[madfloridian]

5. I had heard this before.

But never from a new station. Inmates had posted about it online, and we had heard about it....but people just pooh pooh sources like that. If I remember correctly, an inmate had a letter to the editor printed about it. Can't find the source now.

It's horrible.

[madfloridian]

8. Clarified..It's only illegal for the mentally ill.

http://www.gainesville.com/article/20090114/NEWS/901140939/-1/NEWS03?Title=Fla__court__Mentally_ill_inmates_can_t_be_gassed

"U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Corrigan in Jacksonville last week ordered prison officials and attorneys for mentally ill inmates to come up with a plan to address the use of chemical agents by the end of February.

Corrigan says while it is legal to use tear gas, pepper spray and other chemical agents on inmates, it is unconstitutional when an inmate's mental illness prevents him from conforming his behavior to the rules.

Department spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger says officials are reviewing the judge's ruling."

In the video in the OP, they are spraying the inmate through the slot where they serve the food. He was just standing there not bothering anyone. The CBS4 anchor woman covered her face at one point.

There has got to be a better way. If he were just standing there in his cell alone, why spray him until his cell is filled with gas.

[madfloridian]

9. Interesting comment at a St. Pete Times blog.

http://blogs.tampabay.com/buzz/2009/01/doc-must-stop-g.html

The policy of using chemical agents is less brutal than the previous policy: Cell extractions, which can turn fatal, which happened in 1999 with the death of Frank Valdez.

This case, brought on behalf of inmate Jeremiah Thomas and other inmates, was pushed by Holland & Knight on a pro bono basis. The attorneys for Thomas and DOC have until Feb. 10 to figure a better way to treat the mentally ill."

There is a pdf with the entire ruling.

I was interested in these comments at the end of the blog.

If you look at the rise in the use of jails and prisons to care for the mentally ill, it really took off around the time that lawmakers privitized the state mental health treatment facilities. Only one company runs both state mental health treatment facilities and private prisons, geocare. The fact is they release people quickly and they become involved with law enforcement, arrested and sent to a forensic facility ( also geocare) or a private prison ( geocare) - get the picture?

Posted by: | January 16, 2009 at 12:02 AM

Representative Adkins has a bill that is dealing with the mentally ill in the prisons, the sentencing guidelines and penal code. Perhaps the legislature is now making plans to change the course.

Posted by: | January 15, 2009 at 11:59 PM

Prison is perhaps more anti-human than just fifty years ago.

Posted by: | January 15, 2009 at 07:48 PM

I am not sure about the Geocare mentioned, but the tendency to hold the mentally ill in prisons here started with the privatization.

[JTFrog]

15. Looks like they even build the facilities... paid for by the government.

http://www.thegeogroupinc.com/geocare.asp

SERVICES OFFERED

Civil Mental Health Services: Operate civil psychiatric hospitals for individuals with a severe and persistent mental illness that are involuntarily committed when community treatment alternatives are no longer effective.

South Florida State Hospital

Forensic Mental Health Services: Operate forensic psychiatric treatment facilities providing mental health assessments and psychiatric rehabilitation to individuals who have been declared incompetent to proceed to trial or were found not guilty by reason of insanity.

South Florida Evaluation & Treatment Center

Treasure Coast Forensic Treatment Center

Sex Offender Treatment Services: Operate sex offender treatment facilities that provide programming and care for sex offenders. This includes treatment to sex offenders in prison and those that have completed their prison terms and are civilly committed because they are pre-disposed to commit violent sexual acts that endanger the health and safety of others.

Florida Civil Commitment Center

Corrections – Special Needs Treatment: Provide mental health, substance abuse and other treatment/services in correctional settings.

Palm Beach County Jail

Facility Design, Construction and Financing: In conjunction with the services described above, we can design, build, and finance a new state-of-the-art facility to fit your needs. In fact, GEO Care has enabled government entities to successfully finance the entire cost of new facilities through savings achieved after GEO Care assumes management – while dramatically increasing the quality of care at the same time.

[George II]

10. Thanks for posting this - it needs MORE publicity. Disgusting practice...

[madfloridian]

11. It's hard reading and painful viewing....the video is awful.

The woman anchor put her hand over her face while viewing it...in shock.

I almost didn't post it, but it is the result of the lack of oversight in Florida's privatization.

[George II]

16. I didn't watch the video based on your warning, but we all have to realize TORTURE is TORTURE!

[mentalslavery]

12. The mentally ill are legally defined as a protected population

under the ADA

This interpretation has been suported by the supreme court

The Supreme Court decided under Title II of the ADA that mental illness is a form of disability

Additionally,

Private individuals may bring lawsuits in which they can obtain court orders to stop discrimination. Individuals may also file complaints with the Attorney General, who is authorized to bring lawsuits in cases of general public importance or where a pattern or practice of discrimination is alleged. In these cases, the Attorney General may seek monetary damages and civil penalties. Civil penalties may not exceed $55,000 for a first violation or $110,000 for any subsequent violation.

This is a guide via a disability advocacy website that will provide contact information for state and federal officials.

http://www.vachss.com/help_text/legislators.html

I have sent them an email and link to this story. I suggest that you do too. Abuse of disabled people is often not punished for a variety of reasons.

[Veritas_et_Aequitas]

13. Thanks for drawing attention to this story.

It seems like no one stands up for the mentally ill. They're the lepers of the post-modern world.

[D-Lee]

14. Prisons now de facto mental hospitals - lack of mental health beds

As mental hospitals are closed by various states, the mentally ill are dealt with in the police and correction systems.

We, as a country, need to do better!

[tosh]

17. Would someone remind me just what century, no, make that what millennium we are in?

This horrible practice seems like something that may have been used long, long ago.

[madfloridian]

18. I thought the same thing. Like it was some long ago thing that happened.

But it is not.

:shrug:

Very sad.

[derby378]

19. True story from my neck of the woods

While escorting my wife from a doctor's appointment at the local hospital, I saw two guys wrestling with each other not too far away from us. One of them had on a pair of hospital scrubs and an ID badge. The other, whom I'll call "George," seemed to be shouting incoherently. I was naturally concerned about my wife's safety, so when George started shouting at me, I barked at him to keep silent and take his disagreement elsewhere. The orderly and Bill continued to wrestle with each other, with the orderly telling Bill he wasn't cleared to step out of the hospital yet. That's when I noticed the staples around Bill's left temple. The surgical incision was still fairly fresh.

Bill tried to make a break for it. I helped the orderly subdue Bill and started talking to Bill in a gentler voice while still keeping firm: "Relax, okay? Relax. I'm not going to hurt you. Nobody is going to hurt you. But you need to relax. He's saying you haven't been cleared to leave the hospital yet."

My wife offered Bill a cigarette if he'd agree to sit down and cool off. He accepted the cigarette, had a smoke, and kept his word. His words were slurred, but I think he said he just wanted to go across the street to get some cigarettes since he couldn't buy them at the hospital, let alone smoke them on hospital grounds. He'd buy his tobacco, smoke it, and come back to the hospital, and he was adamant that we shouldn't be stopping him. But he didn't try to bolt, either.

The point is that as soon as I realized Bill was recovering from some serious health issues, I tried to be more gentle with him as the orderly and I kept him from making a break for it. Ginny had the best solution of all, however, as all it took was one little cigarette to get him to sit down and take it easy until the guards finally arrived to sort things out.

Unless his hands are around your throat, using chemical irritants on someone who is mentally ill is simply inhuman. I could have been a hardass with Bill, but he didn't need that. He needed guidance and understanding, not an iron fist.

He is, after all, human.

[madfloridian]

20. Nice story.

Thanks for sharing.

Kindness works wonders so often.

[derby378]

21. Thanks for overlooking the fact that I started referring to George as "Bill"

I can't believe I did that midway through the story. It's been one of those weeks.

I think my wife and I are in need of a beach. We need to wiggle our toes in the sand, watch the waves, and listen to the gulls.

[rasputin1952]

22. Years ago, I worked in a hospital South of Seattle...

we had a pt w/DT's and he was complaining to the MD and nurse about the "bats in the room". The doc told him there were no bats, and he should relax and "focus". The doc and the nurse left the room, and w/the door open, were chuckling about the "bats". I was in the room w/the patient and knew he cold hear this "discussion" out in th hall. The doc went to the Nurse's Station to order 10mg IV valium and some other stuff for the pt.

I left the room telling the pt I'd be right back. i went to the janitor's closet, got a broom and went back to the room...I then proceeded to "shoo" the "bats" put of the room w/the broom, sweeping the air. After a bit, i looked at the pt and asked if I "got all of them"; "no, there's one on top of the TV" he said. I "shooed it away, then left to put the broom away. When I returned about 45 seconds later, the pt was fast asleep...half an hour later, the RN showed up w/the valium...go figure.

To this man, the bats were real, I treated them as real, and at least for a bit, this man's life was a little less terrifying. End of story...he recovered, and the last I saw of him he was in AA, hopefully he is still recovering...:)