System for handling mental illness needs scrutiny
When the federal grant supporting Dubuque County's Jail Diversion Program ended, the community was supposed to pick up the slack in meeting the needs of the mentally ill in the criminal justice system. Some of those solutions have worked pretty well. But there are gaps that could prove dangerous to individuals and expose the county to risk.
During the three years that the county had the grant, mental health professionals and substance abuse counselors worked with police and sheriff's officials. In the first six months, jail diversion staff assisted 275 times with 207 different people, getting help for individuals instead of placing them in jail. All stakeholders had positive things to say about the collaborative effort.
That's a tough act to follow when the funding goes away.
The federal grant had provided $300,000 per year for the program. When it came to an end in 2006, it coincided with another blow to the mental health community: the Gannon Center closed. Dubuque County Supervisors allotted $72,000 for a community treatment coordinator to keep the system working. No matter how good that coordinator is at his job, it is impossible for one person to take on the entire program.
Nathan Duccini, the corrections department coordinator, said he has seen nearly 100 clients since February 2007, and kept nearly all of them out of jail. That's a great start, but putting one person on this problem is like trying to cover up 10 kids with a baby blanket. It just can't stretch far enough.
The big issue here is that mentally ill individuals don't belong in the county jail. They tend to not function well there and law enforcement officials are not equipped to deal with the individualized regimens that can help keep mentally ill patients stable. And yet, about a third of Iowa's prison inmates are mentally ill, according to a 2006 report by the Iowa Department of Corrections. As many as half of the female inmates have some mental illness diagnosis.
Third & Short
HOUSTON -- The family of a Rice football player who died during practice two years ago filed a wrongful death lawsuit Tuesday against the school, former coach Todd Graham, the NCAA and others.
Dale Lloyd II died a day after he collapsed during a conditioning workout Sept. 24, 2006. The 19-year-old freshman's death was linked to sickle-cell trait and created the basis for the lawsuit filed by Houston attorney Mark Lanier in state district court in Harris County.
"Skin color and flagrant ignorance tragically killed" Lloyd, said the lawsuit, which was first reported by Houston television station KRIV. "A simple blood test could have saved Dale. Instead, Dale's African-American heritage was tossed aside and a family is forever without a son."
Reports of wrongful death lawsuit in teen shooting incorrect
The mother of a 16-year-old Crawford boy, shot and killed by Crawford Police Chief Richard “Rick” Thompson last year, plans to file a wrongful death lawsuit but it hasn't been filed yet.
Attorneys for Pat Britton, mother of teenager Jesse Britton, will file the lawsuit against Thompson, the City of Crawford and Dan Kling, a Nebraska Game and Parks employee in the near future.
The lawsuit will be filed in U.S. District Court and the trial will take place at the federal building in North Platte.
Recent news reports, including from the Omaha World Herald and the Associated Press, that the lawsuit was filed in Scotts Bluff County District Court are incorrect. Robert Chaloupka, an attorney from Scottsbluff, intends to file the lawsuit but it will be in federal court.
The North Platte Bulletin obtained a copy of the lawsuit Wednesday.
Crawford is a community of 1,100 people near Fort Robinson State Park that had been rocked by a number of burglaries.
Britton was a suspect in the burglaries around Crawford and Thompson had been looking for him.
On Oct. 3, 2007, Thompson got a tip that Britton was hiding in an abandoned bar in downtown Crawford. Thompson placed two officers outside the bar and he and Kling went inside.
The men located Britton in an upstairs room when he popped up from behind a desk, according to sources. Britton was pointing a .22-caliber Ruger pistol at Thompson. The unloaded gun later turned out to be one that had been stolen in the recent burglaries. Thompson ordered the boy to drop the gun. When he didn’t, Thompson fired three times and hit the teen with his third shot. Kling fired twice and both shots hit Britton.
The boy died at the scene.
Do we support those the justice system fails?
Driving around the other day, I was listening to a news story on the radio about the lack of support exonerated inmates receive in Michigan once they are released from prison.
I was struck by the stories of several individuals who were released and left to languish, despite the fact that they had spent as much as 26 years in prison for crimes they did not commit.
The story also sparked a question in my mind – what do we do in Wisconsin?
It turns out that Wisconsin is one of 25 states that does allow for possible compensation for exonerees, according to figures from the national Innocence Project. However, the level of compensation is the lowest among the states providing compensation.
Exonerated prisoners can petition a claims board seeking $5,000 per year up to a total of $25,000. In order to receive compensation, they must prove their innocence to the board with clear and convincing evidence.
Keith Findley, who runs the Wisconsin Innocence Project, characterized compensation as “woefully inadequate.” He also said the process puts a “high burden” on the exonerated prisoner, who may not have the wherewithal to make it through the claims process.
By comparison, exonerated prisoners in Louisiana are eligible for $15,000 year for each year of wrongful incarceration. The total amount of compensation is capped at $150,000. However, their support goes beyond money, so that courts may also award: money for job training for one year, medical and counseling services for three years, tuition expenses at a community college or the state university system.
Anthrax and unsolved suspicious deaths
The FBI has given a thorough accounting of its investigation into the anthrax attacks of 2001. It has not explained how it wrongfully accused one scientist and hounded him, and finally had to pay him $4 million for the damages it did to him. Once the agency thought it found the real perpetrator, Dr. Bruce Ivins, who committed suicide when the FBI was closing in on him the agency provided a comprehensive account which covered the essentials of the crime--means, motive, opportunity.
The FBI has briefed victims and family members of victims of the anthrax attack. It also released scientists from secrecy to give the press an account of the sicence created and applied to solve the case.
Suit filed in death of Horicon worker dismissed
A wrongful death lawsuit stemming from a 2006 incident at a Portage construction site was dismissed in Columbia County Circuit Court on Monday because of a law that prevents employees from filing lawsuits against employers in such cases.
Nickolas Schanen, 46, of Horicon, died Nov. 1, 2006, of severe head injuries after he fell through a hole on the third floor of an addition to the Appleton Papers plant under construction on West Wisconsin Street. Schanen, who was working for Gunderson Construction Co. of Portage, landed on concrete at the ground level and died at the scene.
The lawsuit for damages on behalf of his estate against Appleton Papers Inc. of Appleton was filed in November 2007 and was headed for a jury trial in early 2009 until its dismissal.
Judge James O. Miller dismissed the case "with prejudice," which bars further claims in the matter.
Schanen's family members received no settlement from Appleton Papers or Gunderson Construction, said Schanen's mother, Genevieve Schanen of Beaver Dam. Workers' compensation paid for the funeral, she said.
A spokesman for the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, Chris Marschman, said that state workers' compensation law allows for payment of funeral expenses and death benefits to dependents as the exclusive remedy against an employer in such cases. Dependents can get up to four times the annual pay of the worker or $241,500, an amount set by the state.
Dependents are defined as a spouse or children.
The lawsuit filed by Schanen's estate did not seek a specific amount in damages, according to court records, but accused Appleton Papers of negligence in providing for a safe working environment and asked for compensation for Schanen's "fright and terror" during the fall and for the loss of companionship on behalf of his mother and his son, Joseph N. Schanen.
Family files $5M wrongful death lawsuit against city
The family of a 9-year-old boy who died in March in a sump has filed a $5 million wrongful death lawsuit against the city of Bakersfield.
Zane Newton was playing in the sump near his home when he was buried by a sudden cave-in.
A friend that he was playing with initially said Newton had been kidnapped, sparking a search for the boy that ended when his body was found.
The lawsuit, filed by a thousand oaks lawyer, alleges the city was negligent in warning of dangerous conditions on property, properly fencing the property and failing to keeping people out of the property.
Doctor cleared in lawsuit:
Doctor cleared in lawsuit: A former Williston surgeon who came to aid another doctor’s bleeding kidney patient has been cleared by a jury in a wrongful death lawsuit.
A jury in Minot cleared Dr. Inder Khokha on Aug. 22, after a weeklong trial.
The patient involved in the 2004 operation later died. Her son filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Khokha and Dr. Salem Shahin.
The case against Shahin was settled out of court, but the lawsuit continued against Khokha.
The case of the operation led to a divided state Supreme Court ruling last year that Khokha could not use North Dakota’s “good Samaritan” law to ward off the wrongful death lawsuit.
State pays $50,000 to bicyclist’s family
State officials have agreed to pay $50,000 to the family of a bicycle rider who died on a Crawford County road in 2004 during the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa.
Crawford County officials last year paid a $350,000 settlement to the family of Kirk A. Ullrich, 49, of Davenport, who was killed while descending a hill on County Road E-16. His family had sought an additional $1.6 million from state officials until agreeing in August to accept $50,000 to end their lawsuit, state records show.
The state’s payment is expected to be ratified on Friday by the State Appeals Board, which considers claims made against the state, state officials said Tuesday. The Iowa attorney general’s office has already approved the settlement, said Bob Brammer, a spokesman for Attorney General Tom Miller.
Ullrich was thrown from his bicycle after hitting a center-line crack on the county road. His widow, Betty Jo Ullrich, and their two daughters, asserted wrongful death claims.
South Dakota Wrongful Death Lawyer – Anthrax and unsolved suspicious deaths
The FBI has given a thorough accounting of its investigation into the anthrax attacks of 2001. It has not explained how it wrongfully accused one scientist and hounded him, and finally had to pay him $4 million for the damages it did to him. Once the agency thought it found the real perpetrator, Dr. Bruce Ivins, who committed suicide when the FBI was closing in on him the agency provided a comprehensive account which covered the essentials of the crime--means, motive, opportunity.
The FBI has briefed victims and family members of victims of the anthrax attack. It also released scientists from secrecy to give the press an account of the sicence created and applied to solve the case. The New York Times has the fascinating story.
Scientists involved have declined to comment or speculate on the charges the FBI was developing against Bruce Ivins, but people involved in briefings, such as Sen. Tom Daschle, have said the ece was coompelling, even though some questions remain unanswered.
The FBI's forthrightness stands in contrast to the way such incidents and investigations are handled in South Dakota. That's why the death of Prof. Morgan Lewis on the campus of Northern State University on Nov. 1, 2004, remaiins a puzzle.
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