Man’s Suicide Sparks Development of Mental Health Court
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Bipolar depression affects 10 million people in the United States and it, like many other mental health disorders, causes many of them to turn in desperation to drugs for self medication, which in turn can lead them to a life of crime in order to pay for those drugs. Many find themselves so confused, in pain, desperate, depressed, and anxious and more about life that they attempt to commit suicide.
This happened to Charles Slaughter Junior, 43 of Colona, Ill. He had been diagnosed with bipolar depression and ended up in the correctional system because of the crimes he committed in an attempt to get drug money. He had been found unfit to stand trial for his crimes, but had been forced to remain in jail for 5 months without any kind of medical treatment. In the end, he hung himself in his cell with a bed sheet.
Slaughter’s suicide became a wake up call for Judge Ray Conklin. He read the news about Slaughter’s death in the paper and realized that there were many people in the criminal justice system that didn’t need to be there. They, like Slaughter, suffered from mental health disorders that caused them to behave erratically, break the law, and take illegal drugs and even attempt to kill themselves in desperation.
Conklin came up with the mental health court. It’s a special court that people with mental health disorders who are picked up by the police can be shunted into. Whether they commit a crime or are found to have missed a court ordered dose of medication, the mental health court in Rock Island County handles it. The system is able to move people through faster, meaning they’ll get needed treatment faster. Plus, a person with a mental health disorders has the attention of the court and will even be watched and supervised to make sure they are doing well and getting the treatment they need.
Tags:Addictions, Anxiety, Depression, Mental Disorders, Mental Health, mental health court mental health disorders