Viewpoints: Letters / Opinions
Inmate fatalities
By Andrée McLeod
July 24, 2014
Thursday
It was a huge disappointment for this registered Republican to only see Democrat legislators at the July 15th Legislative Briefing on Inmate Facilities in Alaska’s Correctional Facilities. Chaired by Senator French, the other attendees were Senator Gardner, and Representatives Josephson and Tarr. The Anchorage LIO director confirmed that Representative Tuck, another Democrat, was patched in by teleconference.
This hearing was meant to gather information about the rash of inmate deaths while under state care. People invited to speak were the top officials from the Dept. of Corrections and the AK Mental Health Trust Authority, head of the Correctional Officers Union, and some affected family members.
Why were Republican legislators not in attendance? Had they been there, they would have witnessed the cynicism that emanated from the Parnell administration officials as they repeated their standard line of these deaths being just business as usual. They would have heard the powerful testimony of family members whose loved ones died in our jails under questionable and preventable circumstances..
The job of legislators is not just to pass laws and fund government programs. It is also to hold administration officials accountable for the way public dollars and programs are mismanaged.
The Dept. of Corrections currently is the largest mental health provider in Alaska. The data reported at the meeting is that 65% of the inmate population has some form of mental illness – a physical ailment of the brain. Like any disease, mental illnesses can be treated -- and without help, it gets worse.
Since the Reagan Era, psychiatric institutions have been shut down. The end result is the criminalization of mental illness, as people left untreated end up in jail without proper care.
The Alaska correctional officers union sounded the alarm years ago. They asked for help from Parnell administration officials and legislators, to no avail.
Again – why did Republican legislators not care to take part in the July 15th briefing to look into inmate fatalities in Alaska’ correctional facilities, look at administration officials in the eye and ask them about deaths that occurred under their watch?
Andrée McLeod (R)
Anchorage, Alaska
Received July 18, 2014
- Published July 24, 2014
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