MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Fernando Clark spent the last 10 months of his life in a jail cell, waiting for psychiatric treatment that a court had ordered after he was arrested for stealing cigarettes and fruit from a gas station.
He died while waiting for the treatment that never arrived, found unresponsive in his jail cell.
Clark is just one among hundreds across Alabama awaiting a spot in the state's increasingly limited mental health facilities, despite a consent decree requiring the state to rectify delays in evaluating and providing care for individuals suffering from mental illness charged with crimes.
Even after seven years since the federal agreement was implemented, the problem is escalating. The waitlist for Alabama’s sole secure psychiatric facility has grown to nearly five times longer than it was when the decree was first issued, as per court documents released in September.
Individuals awaiting treatment often spend more time in jail than they would if they pleaded guilty to their charges, according to Bill Van Der Pol, an attorney with the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program which was behind the federal consent decree.
Escalating Delays
Budget cuts and facility closures over the last three decades have significantly impacted the Department of Mental Health in Alabama. Following a $40 million cut in 2010, at least ten psychiatric facilities were shut down, leading to only three remaining inpatient facilities, with just one available for men who face criminal charges.
The consent decree from 2018 aimed to expedite mental health evaluations and associate treatments, requiring that they be completed within specified timeframes. However, as of August, the waitlist at Taylor Hardin Secure Medical Facility had swelled to 273 men, many of whom have been waiting for over two years.
A Nationwide Challenge
Nationally, the outlook is similarly troubling, with state hospital beds for adults at an all-time low in 2023. The Treatment Advocacy Center reported that over half of these beds are occupied by individuals committed through the criminal justice system. According to experts, while courts have gotten better at identifying mental health issues in accused individuals, the lack of adequate treatment facilities remains a critical bottleneck.
Signs of Progress?
Despite the severe challenges, Alabama has been making efforts to address its mental health crisis. Construction is underway to expand Taylor Hardin by adding 80 beds, and staffing measures are being improved with pay raises aimed at recruitment and retention of personnel.
The Alabama Department of Mental Health has also financed the establishment of crisis centers, aiming to offer alternatives to incarceration or emergency room visits, conducting thousands of mental health evaluations since their opening.
In Critical Need of Care
Jennifer Tompkins, a defense attorney, highlighted that even with new beds, individuals often wait for years at facilities like Taylor Hardin. Clark, known to his family as 'Pooch,' struggled with severe mental challenges and his family described the exhausting struggle to navigate the system seeking appropriate treatment for him. Emergencies often put him in jail without proper mental health support.
Clark’s case tragically emphasizes the systemic failures resulting in untreated mental illness within the criminal justice system, leading to severe consequences including unnecessary deaths.
Ongoing Investigations
Following Clark's untimely death, investigations are ongoing, and local law enforcement has recognized the deficiencies in the system that leave mental health patients like Clark without adequate support during critical times.
