A prolonged lawsuit between South Carolina Department of Corrections and the Protection and Advocacy for People with Disabilities Inc. has finally been settled. The two parties reached an agreement and now South Carolina’s government will be providing assistance and treatment to approximately 3,500 mentally ill inmates, while continuing to develop further plans for the next several years.
The agreement comes after videos of neglect and violence were viewed in open court and shocked viewers. Following the non-jury trial in January 2014, South Carolina Judge Michael Baxley filed a report and explicitly stated that, “Evidence in this case has proved that inmates have died in the S.C. Department of Corrections for lack of basic mental health care.” The state has agreed to spend approximately $1.7 million upfront to significantly improve the Department of Corrections mental health units. Subsequently, $7 million will be awarded on an annual basis to employ new staff members for the unit.
The mental health of the incarcerated is often overlooked; due to lack of resources, physical health is almost always prioritized. According to a comprehensive study conducted by the Urban Institute, “only one in three state prisoners and one in six jail inmates who suffer from mental health problems” have said they have received any sort of mental health attention.
While the settlement is waiting official approval from a judge, the several provisions would assist the mentally ill in many different ways. The settlement agrees to establish appropriate medication regimens for the mentally ill while tracking their progress. It also includes creating a program to identify the inmates who are at highest risk of suicide and provide supervision and treatment to deter any self-inflicted harm.
According to a report by the Treatment Advocacy Center, from 2004-2005 South Carolina had five mentally ill people in prison for every one in a hospital. In Spartanburg County jail, Kathy White, the medical director, acknowledges, “We have to do something about it while they’re in here…No, a jail is not a mental health facility, but we all have a part to play”.
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