MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Fernando Clark spent the last 10 months of his life in a jail cell, waiting for psychiatric treatment a court ordered he undergo after he’d been arrested for stealing cigarettes and some fruit from a gas station.
He died while waiting for the treatment that never arrived, found unresponsive in his jail cell.
Clark was just one of hundreds of people across Alabama awaiting a spot in the state’s increasingly limited facilities, despite a consent decree requiring the state to address delays in evaluating and providing care for people suffering from mental illness who are charged with crimes.
Seven years since the federal agreement, the problem is only worse. The waitlist for the state’s sole secure psychiatric facility is almost five times longer than when the decree was issued, according to court documents released in September.
Sometimes arrestees are waiting years for placement in a facility designed to treat their illness and ensure they are healthy to go to court, a problem faced by many states around the country.
In Alabama, that means people charged with less serious crimes, like Clark, “spend more time waiting for a bed than if they had just pled guilty,” said Bill Van Der Pol, a lawyer with the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program, which won the federal consent decree.
Delayed Progress
In 2010, the Department of Mental Health had its budget cut by $40 million in the wake of the recession. At least 10 state-run psychiatric facilities have closed over the past three decades, leaving only three inpatient facilities with 504 total beds, and just one where men facing criminal charges can receive treatment to restore them to competency.
The lawsuit that led to the consent decree was filed in 2016, alleging delays at every point in the process that violated constitutional due process.
The 2018 consent decree gave the state two years to complete all mental health evaluations and reports within 60 days of a court order.
A National Issue
Nationally, the number of state hospital beds for adults with serious mental health issues reached a historic low in 2023, while the demand for treatment continues to outpace availability.
Noticeable Improvements
Alabama has taken some steps to improve the situation, including plans to add 80 more beds to the overcrowded Taylor Hardin Secure Medical Facility, but the ongoing staffing crises and management of the facilities remain significant hurdles.
Impossible to Get Out
The issues aren’t solely about beds; the lengthy treatment timelines mean some individuals are trapped in mental health facilities for years on end, without access to proper legal processes or rehabilitation.
Clark, who was 40 when he died, was known as “Pooch,” and his tragic history reflects the struggles of many who are caught in the cycle of prisons and mental illness.
His family contends that systemic failures and inadequate facilities contributed to his demise, highlighting the urgent need for reform in mental health care and jail systems in Alabama.
Burden on Jails
Institutional leaders acknowledge the limits of their facilities in dealing with mental health crises. Montgomery County Sheriff Derrick Cunningham pointed out that jails lack the resources to handle individuals like Clark, a sentiment echoed by others in law enforcement.
