Isn’t it sensible to add beds at Ft. Logan?
Those who saw the recent 60 Minutes segment about Timothy Sanders will know that it concerned a mentally ill inmate who died of neglect in his jail cell. Psychiatric help was not available at the time. Video equipment in his cell showed Sanders dying on his cell floor.
The aftermath of the death was a million-dollar settlement.
The 60 Minutes account indicated that because of a lack of hospital beds, many individuals suffering mental illnesses end up in jail cells.
In the state of Colorado, the mental health-care facility at Fort Logan has been downgraded from 250 beds to only 153. Isn’t it prudent to restore beds at Fort Logan?
Fort Logan provides the economy of scale not available in so-called alternate facilities such as nursing homes and alternate treatment units. Fort Logan provides the proper treatment and security not possible in alternative facilities. Jails and prisons provide security but no treatment and are a form of cruel containment.
To prevent the sort of tragedy suffered by Timothy Sanders and the resultant legal costs, isn’t it of utmost importance to restore beds cut at Fort Logan?
Graham Witherspoon, Aurora
Why bother helping the mentally ill in our society when we can spend all our tax dollars nation building in the middle east?
Why bother repairing our infrastructure when we can blow a foreign nation to smithereens, then pay to rebuild it with our tax dollars?
Why bother with any attempt to balance the budget when the unconstitutional, private, for profit, Federal Reserve can print money from thin air at their whim, and charge the taxpayers interest to do so?
We need to increase Mental Health beds overall. However, we cannot treat someone against their will. (The ACLU saw to that) And even if someone agrees to be treated, the cost of medication is prohibited (pharm companies saw to that) As a society we need the will, the law, and the commitment to help people be mentally well. We can see to that.
Posted by Tom on August 22, 2007 11:49 AMJay,
Your post has shown me one thing, and that is I should not bother listening to you. What is your point? That there is injustice in the world? That our leadership is less than ideal? Congratulations on the indepth insight! However, what does that have to do with the original letter?
Write your own letter with your own ideas and comments. Don't piggy back them onto someone else's.