Post by Logan on Jun 9, 2016 4:51:44 GMT -6
Mental health advocates urge McAuliffe to take executive action
The outcry over Jamycheal Mitchell’s death in Hampton Roads Regional Jail spread this week to include the state’s designated legal advocates for people with disabilities.
The Richmond-based Disability Law Center of Virginia on Tuesday released a letter it sent to Gov. Terry McAuliffe last week urging him to take executive action to prevent another death such as Mitchell’s.
The group said the state has routinely promised to reduce or eliminate its waiting list for mentally ill inmates who are supposed to be transferred to state hospitals for treatment, but has failed to do so several times in the past eight years.
Mitchell, who as a boy was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, was jailed in Portsmouth in April 2015 after allegedly stealing $5 worth of snacks from a convenience store.
Read more: www.roanoke.com/news/virginia/mental-health-advocates-urge-mcauliffe-to-take-executive-action/article_bf7d0a3d-e121-5f2f-afd7-28f3081c6ac9.html
The outcry over Jamycheal Mitchell’s death in Hampton Roads Regional Jail spread this week to include the state’s designated legal advocates for people with disabilities.
The Richmond-based Disability Law Center of Virginia on Tuesday released a letter it sent to Gov. Terry McAuliffe last week urging him to take executive action to prevent another death such as Mitchell’s.
The group said the state has routinely promised to reduce or eliminate its waiting list for mentally ill inmates who are supposed to be transferred to state hospitals for treatment, but has failed to do so several times in the past eight years.
Mitchell, who as a boy was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, was jailed in Portsmouth in April 2015 after allegedly stealing $5 worth of snacks from a convenience store.
Read more: www.roanoke.com/news/virginia/mental-health-advocates-urge-mcauliffe-to-take-executive-action/article_bf7d0a3d-e121-5f2f-afd7-28f3081c6ac9.html