Cop Murders: Blame the System

Some blame the president, New York's mayor, the protesters, and even the black men and boys who were murdered by the police and vigilantes. We should blame the broken mental health system for Ismaaiyl Brinsley shooting his girlfriend, two police officers, then himself. Condolences to all grieving families.

Brinsley had been arrested numerous times and was recognized to have mental illness. Tragedies can be avoided when troubled inmates are released only under programs that include mental health treatment. We can help New York State prisoners with mental illness get better discharge plans by supporting S7818/ A10071 "The Prisoners Mental Health Discharge and Planning Bill.”

The bill passed the New York State Assembly and Senate, but Gov. Cuomo has to sign it for it to become law. The bill makes sure prisoners with mental illness who are being released are given a discharge plan, an appointment with a community program, and enough medications to last until the appointment. It also adds parole officials to the list of people who can refer someone with a mental illness to a hospital for evaluation. This will help reduce reincarceration, says mental health expert, Dj Jaffe, director of the Mental Illness Policy Organization.

Ismaaiyl Brinsley's face is not the one that should be applied to the nation's righteous protests against police violence. Hundreds of dead men and boys and thousands of nonviolent protesters of all races who stand together and say "All lives matter" should remain the focus of the movement for greater police accountability. 

More than half the victims of police violence are mentally ill people like my brother Larry Neal was when he was secretly arrested for 18 days and murdered while in Shelby County Jail in Memphis, Tennessee (see the website below). Even as we mourn the loss of police officers and hundreds of citizens killed in police-related incidents, Milwaukee alerted the National Guard prior to releasing the indictment decision for another mentally ill man who was slain by police. The Free Thought Project reports "Protests have intensified in Milwaukee as the community anxiously awaits the district attorney’s decision on whether or not to indict a former officer Christopher Manney who shot Dontre Hamilton 14 times, including once in the back, on April 30."  Read more >> http://bit.ly/1AXue7h (See the full link below).

Clearly, unjustifiable deadly force by police is a major problem in the United States that must be exposed and opposed for the sake of the lives that should not have been taken and the continued peace in our society. The appropriate response is not cop killings such as those done by Ismaaiyl Brinsley, a mentally ill man. And blaming politicians and community organizers for protests against the lack of police accountability will not resolve the problem. This is the time for our officials over government to take bold, decisive action to protect the lives of everyone who is at risk because of overzealous policing. Suggestions are:

1) All police officers should undergo psychological evaluations, drug testing, and thorough background checks before hiring. Maintain a database on all police officers who were terminated because of inappropriate conduct. Police officers who have been fired because of substantiated complaints by citizens citing harassment and overuse of force should be ineligible for rehire by any other police department or in any capacity that requires the personnel to carry a firearm.

2) Conduct unscheduled drug testing for police departments periodically, and test every officer immediately after his/her involvement in violent incidents. Steroids cause brain damage and aggression, and should be included in the drug tests for police officers.

3) Hold police officers accountable to the same standards that prosecutors would apply to other citizens when they become criminal suspects. Police officers who become criminal defendants should pay for their legal defense using their own personal resources or use public defenders. In no case should police defendants' legal defense fund include taxpayers' funds beyond the monies already appropriated to make public defenders available to defendants who cannot afford an attorney.

4) The U.S. Congress passed a bill requiring an accurate count of all people in America who are killed by police and who die in custody, regardless of the cause of death. The data reported will include the name, age, race, and gender of each victim, and information about the death. Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill (AIMI) holds that an additional category must be whether or not the victim had a documented diagnosis of mental illness and/or history of substance abuse. It has been stated that the database will be used to assess information on race-based killings. The government not only has the responsibility to protect Americans of diverse races but also a responsibility to protect Americans with mental disabilities, which has been largely overlooked. Therefore, the bill for data collection from police departments should be amended to add an entry for mental illness before the president signs it into law.

5) To reduce the violence to and by mentally ill Americans, the nation should immediately fund assisted outpatient treatment (AOT) programs for all mentally ill inmates or hospital patients before their releases. The U.S. Congress should pass H.R.3717 "Helping Family in Mental Health Crisis Act," which has a pilot program for AOT programs as well as other provisions that would help repair America's broken mental health system.

6) When police kill, should they judge themselves? Gov. Scott Walker (Wisconsin) answered with a resounding "no," signing into law a bill that requires outside investigation when people die in police custody — the first of its kind in the nation. This should become a federal law. (See a link to the news story from Wisconsin below).

In addition to the black boys and men, police also killed numerous black women. Some of their photographs are shown below. 

Immediate measures must be enacted to prevent the United States of America from falling into anarchy. Citizens cannot be expected to tolerate the continued police killings of unarmed people who are black and brown or whites who lack wealth, and the lives of the nations' most vulnerable people (the homeless and the mentally ill) must be protected. Unless the government's aim is Martial Law, changes must be made with haste to ensure that all deaths are met with due process of law - not by government cover-ups, excuses, and ignoring laws against murder if prosecution against police and corrections officers is warranted. No amount of criticism by the police union against protesters, officials, and community organizers will suffice to repair the growing breach between police departments and the citizenry they are paid by taxpayers to protect. 

DEATHS IN CUSTODY MUST BE REPORTED, INDEPENDENTLY INVESTIGATED,
AND PROSECUTED IF WARRANTED

America must fully honor the U.S. Constitution and the International Declaration of Human Rights for the sake of its domestic security. On Sunday, December 21, 2014, "Human Rights Demand" on Blogtalkradio featured an interview with Windy Hempstead, whose brother Harold Hempstead reported the murder of Darren Rainey. Rainey was killed in Dade Correctional Institution in Florida in 2012 (see the link to the show below). Two years later, Rainey's murder by scalding in a small shower had not been investigated, and the corrections officers responsible had not been disciplined in any way. The Hempsteads then took the story about Rainey to the Miami Herald, which reported the news, unlike mainstream media companies I contacted about Larry Neal's murder, which was also ignored by all government authorities. 

Even today, almost three years after Rainey's torturous death, the medical examiner has not filed an autopsy report, and nobody has been charged with Rainey's killing. The jail and USDOJ refuse to release information about Larry Neal's murder eleven years later. Unrequitted murders say "Black lives don't matter," and the public disagrees, as it is their moral duty to do so.

If the U.S. Government is as inept at protecting the human and civil rights of minorities and Americans with mental illness as it appears to be, surely we need help from other countries and the United Nations. Demonstrations against unrequited police violence were held in diverse countries throughout the world when officers involved in the wrongful deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown were not indicted. Brown's family traveled to Geneva to the United Nations and cried out for assistance making the United States honor its obligation to uphold equal justice for all. U.S. protesters also spoke at the United Nations to say "Hands Up, Don't Shoot" and "I Can't Breathe." 

AIMI plans an action in International Court in 2015 to protect the rights of Americans with mental illness. AIMI will bundle up to 100 cases detailing neglect, police brutality, systemic torture in custody (including solitary confinement), and unrequited deaths of mental patients and drug/alcohol addicts as well as their victims. The cases will be represented by an international human rights lawyer in a civil action for recovery of damages for the victims or their survivors. AIMI will also present a list of recommended changes that we hope the United Nations will mandate for its member state, the USA, to prevent more loss of innocent lives and avoid disruption of peace in this country where continued police murders and deaths in custody threaten the entire social structure. See information at the "AIMI - Human Rights" blog at the link below.

Here are a few ways you can help:

1) Please call 518-474-4246 and ask to speak to Larry Schwartz. If the operator asks you what you want, say “I want Governor Cuomo to sign S7818/ A10071 "The Prisoners Mental Health Discharge and Planning Bill.” Your call may be transferred elsewhere. If so, repeat the same message.

2) Ask your U.S. congressional representatives to pass H.R.3717 "Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Ac http://www.usa.gov/Agencies.shtml

3) Sign this petition: "We Demand National Change to Protect Citizens and Communities from Police Violence and Misconduct" (it presently has 743,113 signatures).
https://www.change.org/p/president-barack-obama-we-demand-national-change-to-protect-citizens-and-communities-from-police-violence-and-misconduct

4) Sign this petition: "Investigate the 2012 death of Mr. Darren Rainey, a mentally ill Florida prisoner who died after prison guards locked him into a 180-degree shower" (it presently has 204,895 supporters)
https://www.change.org/p/attorney-general-eric-holder-investigate-the-2012-death-of-mr-darren-rainey-a-mentally-ill-florida-prisoner-who-died-after-prison-guards-locked-him-into-a-180-degree-shower

The face of Ismaaiyl Brinsley is not the correct icon for the People's opposition to police violence. Protesters condemn his actions. Brinsley was merely another mentally ill man who lacked the psychiatric treatment that he needed and deserved. In fact, his mental disability leads to the deaths of hundreds of Americans' deaths annually, killed on our streets and in custody. The struggle for police accountability is better depicted by the posters in this blog showing men, women, and children who were killed and thousands of nonviolent protesters in the video and photographs below.

"I still hear my brother crying ‘I can’t breathe’
Now I’m in the struggle and saying 'I can’t leave'
Calling out the violence of these racist police
We ain’t gonna stop till people are free
We ain’t gonna stop till people are free"
This song was sung at a protest march seeking justice for Eric Garner and other victims of police violence, Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, NY, December 4, 2014.

Die-in, representing the 4.5 hours Michael Brown's body lay in the Ferguson street and the dead body of Eric Garner on a New York City sidewalk after being choked to death.

Hands Up! Don't Shoot!

AIMI members hope that all government officials follow Gov. Walker's lead and apply corrective measures to overuse of force incidents and deaths in custody that threaten peace in our society. 

Problems are caused by the system which refuses to police the police and acknowledge that all lives matter, not by protesters who cannot breathe in such a system.

Five (5) References:
Grand Jury Refuses to Indict former officer Christopher Manney who shot Dontre Hamilton
http://thefreethoughtproject.com/tensions-rising-national-guard-alert-milwaukee-awaits-indictment-decision-case-dontre-hamilton/

Gov. Scott Walker signs police custody deaths bill
http://www.jsonline.com/watchdog/watchdogreports/gov-scott-walker-expected-to-sign-police-custody-bill-b99253819z1-256342301.html

"Human Rights Demand" interview with Windy Hempstead regarding Darren Rainey's Murder
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/humanrightsdemand/2014/12/21/darren-rainey-homicide-exposed-by-harold-and-windy-hempstead

Secret Arrest and Wrongful Death of Larry Neal
http://WrongfulDeathofLarryNeal.com/main.html

Protesters sing "I Can't Breathe" on Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, NY, December 4, 2014
http://youtu.be/WJMLY0thfOQ

CONDOLENCES to the families and friends of all people whose lives were taken in acts of violence. We solute government officials and protesters who continue to work for positive changes in the system.

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Thank you for giving Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill.

It would be illegal to keep a dog in a tight space 23 hours a day and gas or Taser him for barking. It would be illegal to put a dog in deadly restraint for control. That happens to mentally ill people routinely in the nation's correctional facilities. What happened to Larry Neal? Why are we still asking that question after eleven years?

Mentally Ill Americans Need Dog Justice. Treat mental illness medically, not legally. Support the H.R. 3717 "Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act."

No Indictment for Ethan Saylor's Homicide

A Maryland grand jury refused to indict police officers responsible for the death of Ethan Saylor, a 26-year-old man with Down Syndrome, who was killed inside a movie theater in January 2013 while wearing police handcuffs. The official cause of death was ruled a homicide by asphyxiation. An autopsy revealed that Saylor suffered a fractured throat cartilage, which one expert says could only have been caused by force of some kind. Force could have included a direct blow or manual strangulation.

The Maryland grand jury's refusal to indict Saylor's killers comes on the heels of two other highly contested grand jury decisions regarding the police killings of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner in New York. Eric Garner died as a result of an illegal choke hold, which might have also been used to kill Saylor.

Alternative Media Syndicate.com reports, "Because of Saylor's large size, the officers say they had to use three sets of handcuffs on him and placed him on his stomach for 'one to two minutes' ... Just as in the case of Eric Garner, the police have said that being obese 'contributed' to Saylor’s death, making him 'more susceptible to breathing problems.'"

The lives of mentally dysfunctional Caucasians like Kelly Thomas and Ethan Saylor seem to receive no more protection than do the lives of African Americans. Saylor refused to leave the theater after the conclusion of a movie he was taken to see by his caretaker. When she explained to the theater staff that they did not have the fare to watch "Zero Dark Thirty” a second time, police were called. The fare for most movies is less than $10. Black people, like our mentally ill citizens, are killed for tiny sums. See Kenneth Harding's death by San Francisco police officers who asked him to prove he had paid the $2 train fare. The shooting is on the video below and at http://youtu.be/qE8iLrqWpwA

Thousands of protesters feel that police officers need reminding that black lives matter. The lives of mentally challenged Americans also matter. People in these two groups comprise the overwhelming majority of the nation's police-involved casualties, including avoidable deaths. It is impossible to give an exact count of how many Americans with mental disabilities or African Americans die at the hands of police officers each year, because police seem not to have any reporting responsibilities in that regard. We do know it is a significant number. For instance, seven people were shot dead by police in Florida within eight days in November 2014. Florida would have killed eight, except police missed when shooting at an unarmed African American father who was trying to get his daughter home for her asthma treatment (see the AntiMedia link below). If one citizen per day is killed in all 50 states, the total deaths are 18,250 annually (without counting inmates killed by corrections officers).

It seems that countries that disregard the right to life for mentally challenged people eventually do the same for minorities. More than 300,000 mentally challenged individuals of all races were isolated and killed in Nazi Germany before that nation began its ethnic cleansing and killed millions of Jews and blacks. In the USA, approximately 1.25 million mentally challenged people are isolated in prisons and jails (comprising over 60 percent of inmates in solitary confinement). Deaths of mentally ill Americans are quite common during their imprisonment.

More information about Ethan Saylor case is available at the first two articles below. Ethan Saylor's parent's reaction to the grand jury's decision not to indict the police officers who killed their son is in this article:
Grand Jury Refuses To Indict Cops Who Killed Man With Down Syndrome Who Wouldn’t Leave Movie.

http://alternativemediasyndicate.com/2014/12/08/grand-jury-robert-ethan-saylor-no-cop-indictment/
More about Saylor's ordeal in the theater and his final words are at this article:

"Police murder Ethan Saylor, Down Syndrome Victim"
http://dogjusticeformentallyill.blogspot.com/2013/09/police-murder-ethan-saylor-downs.html
Florida Police Killed Seven People in Eight Days in November 2014
http://theantimedia.org/florida-police-killed-7-people-8-days-november/

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Thank you for giving Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill.

It would be illegal to keep a dog in a tight space 23 hours a day and gas or Taser him for barking. It would be illegal to put a dog in deadly restraint for control. That happens to mentally ill people routinely in the nation's correctional facilities. What happened to Larry Neal?

Mentally Ill Americans Need Dog Justice. Treat mental illness medically, not legally. Support the H.R. 3717 "Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act."

Scott Panetti, TX Cowboy: Execution Dec. 3

One of our Americans with mental disabilities is scheduled to be executed on December 3, 2014. Scott Panetti's sentence should be commuted because he is very sick, plus he had ineffectual counsel - himself.

Does the United States justice system find mental illness entertaining? Do officials over justice consider it funny to kill mentally disabled citizens? Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty shared a video exposing the trial of Scott Panetti, who was charged with murdering his in-laws on September 8, 1992. The court allowed this untreated man who suffered from severe paranoid schizophrenia to conduct his own defense wearing a cowboy outfit and be sentenced to death.

Panetti's father expressed a loss of faith in the justice system after watching his very sick son try to defend himself. He expected Judge Steven Ables to stop the trial when it was obvious how unprepared Panetti was, but Judge Ables allowed the trial to continue to the end. Perhaps Edith Jones is not the only judge in America who believes that a death sentence provides a public service by allowing an inmate to "make peace with God." See the video below and at YouTube link http://youtu.be/0WTn78SIRvc . News and viewpoints are censored regarding how America mistreats its acute mentally ill citizens.

December 3, 2014 UPDATE: The video is embedded below and now available on YouTube at the link, 
http://youtu.be/obBaLvWZ8HE 

The United Nations requests that the United States commute Panetti's sentence based on human decency and the Convention Against Torture. 
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=49487

Original text resumes: Panetti's appeals have been denied since he was sentenced to execution. Some judges have disdain for defendants who are mentally ill. The Austin Chronicle reports that Justice Edith Jones, who sits on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals – based in New Orleans, its jurisdiction includes Texas – made numerous offensive and biased comments during a February lecture at the University of Pennsylvania School of Law, according to the complaint filed pursuant to the federal Judicial Conduct and Disability Act. She told law students and other attendees that she thought the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling outlawing the death penalty for the mentally retarded did intellectually disabled individuals a disservice, and that to create such an exemption from execution was a "slippery slope," reads the complaint.

"In describing … what Judge Jones said about these cases, I am not able to capture the complete outrage she expressed over the crimes or the disgust she evinced over the defense raised, particularly by the defendants who claimed to be mentally retarded," reads the declaration, filed with the complaint, of veteran Pennsylvania-based death penalty attorney Marc Bookman, who attended the lecture. "Judge Jones's disgust at how these defendants were 'using mental retardation' was very evident and very disconcerting," reads the complaint. Austin Chronicle Report on Judith Jones
http://www.austinchronicle.com/blogs/news/2013-06-04/judge-edith-jones-blacks-and-hispanics-more-violent/

An excerpt from Yahoo Voices described the Panetti trial: "Dressed in costume like one of the actors in an old Western Movie, with a big brimmed cowboy hat hanging on his shoulders by the strap, plaid shirt, bandanna, fancy cowboy boots, and spurs, Scott Panetti proceeded to defend himself, playing out the role of lawyer. The prevailing judge, Ables allowed his court to be turned into a three ring circus as jurors watched, stunned at what they were seeing and hearing, some fearing the man they watched before them."

An attorney who was called by Panetti as a witness shared his observations, stating: “The courtroom had the atmosphere of a circus. The judge just seemed to let Scott run free with his irrational questions and courtroom antics.”
http://www.internationaljusticeproject.org/illnessSPanetti.cfm

Panetti's ex-wife, whose parents were killed, does not feel that Panetti should die for his crime that resulted from untreated mental illness. And obviously, nobody should defend himself in a capital murder case, especially not a paranoid schizophrenic man dressed as a cowboy. Panetti's trial was an outrageous exercise that has probably provided justice officials many laughs for over 20 years while Scott Panetti awaits the needle on death row in Texas.

Homelessness, prison and death must discontinue being America's answer to acute mental illness. Nobody deserves execution for having a health crisis. 

UPDATE: Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill (AIMI) plans to take the wrongful execution of Scott Panetti (if he is killed) along with the wrongful internment of mentally ill Americans on death row in Texas (including Jeff Wood and Andre Thomas as well as Panetti) before the International Court in 2015. This is an outrage. Visit our website and join conversations on the first weekend of each month about protecting the human rights of mentally ill Americans in International Court at http://AIMI-HumanRights.blogspot.com

Two homeless men were shot to death in Atlanta by an unidentified killer while they slept during Thanksgiving week 2014. Three New Mexico teens were charged with beating homeless people to death in Albuquerque in July 2014. The homeless are not always mentally ill, but people with psychiatric conditions are over-represented among the chronically homeless. Americans should demand that our legal system not act like those sick killers.

This article was first published in the Davis-MacPhail Truth Committee blog at 
http://dmtruth.blogspot.com/2013/08/scott-panetti-ridicule-and-execution.html

You are URGED to fax, email, and tweet Gov. Rick Perry and object at @TexGov. He is a Christian, so please remind him about Psalm 102:19-20, Hebrews 13:3, Matthew 25:31-46, and Proverbs 31:8-9 (KJV). 
https://twitter.com/texgov

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Thank you for giving Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill.

Anti-DP articles are the most censored news that this writer publishes. Therefore, please be aware that there should be eight(8) live links above. It would be illegal to keep a dog in a tight space 23 hours a day and gas or Taser him for barking. It would be illegal to put a dog in deadly restraint for control. That happens to mentally ill people routinely in the nation's correctional facilities. What happened to Larry Neal?

Mentally Ill Americans Need Dog Justice. Treat mental illness medically, not legally. Support the H.R. 3717 "Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act."

Ron Thomas Pokes Fun at Michael Brown's Death

Ron Thomas, the father of police victim Kelly Thomas, is making fun of the murder of Michael Brown on Facebook. I am sure Ron, a former police officer, showed the same lack of human compassion to his dead son, which is probably why Kelly was homeless and left to be murdered as a "useless eater." People who disregard the right to life for minorities generally feel that handicapped people don't deserve to breathe, either. Read the history of Nazi Germany, which started its genocide by killing over 300,000 people with mental and physical disabilities BEFORE starting on Jews and Blacks. The same hatred that killed Kelly Thomas killed Michael Brown. Thank you, La Mesha Irizarry for pointing out Ron Thomas's very insensitive post about Brown wherein he actually made fun of Brown's murder. Thomas showed the video from the store (said to be Mike Brown stealing cigars) and wrote: 

"And heres little "Mikey Brown" as he is leaving the liquor store with his "5 finger discounted" smokes. All 290 pounds of him!"

Upon receiving criticism for his post, Ron Thomas then wrote:

"Because I re-post a publicly released video showing a 290 pound 18 year old robing and assaulting the clerk, I'm a racist.
Good luck with [that] one.
To make it clear, I DON'T LIKE BAD GUYS!
I don't care what the color of their skin is.
I didn't make any comment about the shooting, or the cop that shot him, and yet you can clearly think that I am a racist.
My whole point was (and you are not the only one too blind to see it) that he was not the little angel that so many are trying to make him out to be.
I never said that he should have been shot or anything like that.
You like so many others knew right away that Brown was "Murdered" by a white racist cop.
Share your proof and facts with me so I can also get on the band wagon and burn cars, rob stores, block freeways and major streets without even knowing why I am doing it.
All that I want is some proof that Brown was Murdered by a white racist cop as you think.
Can you give me that?
Anyone, tell me the facts, no making up crap just because you think so, but some facts. "

IS IT A FACT THAT YOUR "BELOVED" SON WAS HOMELESS BECAUSE OF YOUR CALLOUS ATTITUDE ABOUT PEOPLE WHO ARE SUBSTANTIALLY "DIFFERENT" FROM YOURSELF, RON? ISN'T THAT WHY KELLY THOMAS WAS ABANDONED AND EVENTUALLY KILLED?

Ron Thomas, father of Kelly Thomas, on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/ron.thomas.357

Neither Michael Brown nor any other unarmed black teenager must prove to be a "little angel" to have a right to life, Ron Thomas. Insinuating that Officer Wilson had a right to kill Brown because of stolen cigars is ridiculous. Whereas you want sympathy for your son's death by police, you imply that police had every right to kill Brown, who was also unarmed and reportedly posed no threat to Wilson. It leads one to wonder how safe people's sons were while you were a police officer.

Luckily, there was a video of Kelly Thomas being beaten to death, but there was no live video of Michael Brown being shot to death. However, many witnesses came forward to assert that Brown was surrendered when he was killed, just as your son was as he begged for his life. It should not be hard for someone who watched his own son die at the hands of six merciless police officers to believe the same thing could have happened to Michael Brown. I remain a supporter of justice for Kelly Thomas, especially now that I understand why he was homeless. 

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Thank you for giving Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill.

It would be illegal to keep a dog in a tight space 23 hours a day and gas or Taser him for barking. It would be illegal to put a dog in deadly restraint for control. That happens to mentally ill people routinely in the nation's correctional facilities. What happened to Larry Neal?

Mentally Ill Americans Need Dog Justice. Treat mental illness medically, not legally. Support the H.R. 3717 "Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act."

UN CAT Reviews USA: Webcast Nov 12 and 13

By: UN Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR)

GENEVA, Nov. 6, 2014 - The UN Committee against Torture is due to review the USA on 12 and 13 November in sessions that will be webcast live.

The USA is one of the 156 States parties to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and is required to undergo regular examinations of its record before the Committee of 10 independent experts. The Committee will engage in a dialogue with the US government delegation and also hear from NGOs.

The USA CAT examination of U.S. officials (webcasts) is archived at the link below:
http://www.treatybodywebcast.org/category/webcast-archives/

The United Nations Committee Against Torture Concluding observations on the USA:
http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CAT/Shared%20Documents/USA/INT_CAT_COC_USA_18893_E.pdf

Among the possible issues to be discussed: extraterritorial application of the Convention; CIA’s secret detention, extraordinary rendition and interrogation programme; Guantanamo Bay detainees held indefinitely without charge or trial; investigation and prosecution of those responsible for torture or ill-treatment of detainees; immigration enforcement abuses; death penalty, alleged administration of untested lethal drugs; police brutality; prolonged solitary confinement; protection of prisoners against violence; sexual violence in US military.

Further information and the USA’s report are available at:

http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/SessionDetails1.aspx?SessionID=930&Lang=en

The Committee will publish its concluding observations here on Friday 28 November.

A news conference is scheduled for Friday 28 November at 14:00 at Palais des Nations in Geneva when the Committee will discuss its concluding observations on the USA and the other countries being reviewed – Sweden, Ukraine, Venezuela, Australia, Burundi, Croatia, and Kazakhstan.

To learn more about the Committee against Torture, please visit: 

http://www.ohchr.org/en/hrbodies/cat/pages/catindex.aspx

Members of Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill ("AIMI") are asked to watch the webcast. You are invited to discuss it during broadcasts on "Human Rights Demand" channel on Blogtalkradio on Nov. 13 at 9pm EST. 

AIMI plans an action in International Court in 2015 involving up to 100 claimants of (i) persons with mental illness and/or drug/alcohol addictions, and (ii) people who were victimized by mentally ill people and/or drug/alcohol addicts who were denied timely, appropriate treatment. We seek restitution for and/or relief from police brutality, prison torture, long-term homelessness, and other discrimination against mentally disabled people in the USA. Visit AIMI-HumanRights for more information at
http://AIMI-HumanRights.blogspot.com

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Thank you for giving Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill.

It would be illegal to keep a dog in a tight space 23 hours a day and gas or Taser him for barking. It would be illegal to put a dog in deadly restraint for control. That happens to mentally ill people routinely in the nation's correctional facilities. What happened to Larry Neal?

Mentally Ill Americans Need Dog Justice. Treat mental illness medically, not legally. Support H.R. 3717 "Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act."

AIMI vs. USA - B. Anderson, Claimant

Brenda Anderson, a former female inmate wrote:

MY FEELINGS WERE DEEP AND PERSONAL. FOR I AM MENTALLY ILL. AND I WAS IN TDC ALL MY YOUNG LIFE. BEEN OUT EIGHT YEARS NOW. THEY WILL LIE TO COVER UP THEIR OWN DIRT. BUT I PRAYED FOR THIS DAY TO COME THAT WOULD PUT THEM UNDER INVESTIGATION. I CAN'T WAIT FOR 2015. I WILL KEEP YOU INFORMED AND ALL THE PEOPLE WHO ARE TRYING TO SEEK JUSTICE FOR THE MENTALLY ILL.

WHILE SERVING TIME, THEY TORTURED ME BY PLACING ME IN A CELL FOR YEARS WITH NO WINDOWS AND NO TOILET. I USED THE REST ROOM IN A BIG BUCKET (WITH NO TOILET PAPER). NO BED, A SINK AND MATTRESS ON THE FLOOR. SLEPT ON A BLANKET WITH HOLES IN IT.

I WAS LOCKED BEHIND TWO DOORS, A STEEL DOOR AND BAR CELL DOORS. THEY WOULD USE SHOWING TO PUNISH ME, MEANING THEY WOULD COME GET ME TO SHOWER EVERY THREE DAYS. SOMETIMES FOR WEEKS I ATE OFF THE FLOOR LIKE AN ANIMAL WHENEVER A OFFICER CAME TO WORK IN A BAD MOOD.

IF IT WAS WINTER, I FROZE. IF IT WAS SUMMER, MY CELL FELT LIKE A OVEN. I WOULD HAVE SEIZURES, AND NO ONE CAME TO SEE ABOUT ME. NO TOOTHBRUSH, SOAP, COMB, NOTHING. SURE I COULD HAVE MY BIBLE AND WRITING BOOKS, BUT THE PROBLEM WAS THERE WAS NO LIGHT. THEY SAID IT WAS BROKE.

THEY LET MY MAIL GO OUT BUT NONE CAME IN TO ME. WHENEVER MY FATHER AND FAMILY WOULD COME TO SEE ME, THEY WERE TOLD I HAD GOTTEN INTO SOME TROUBLE AND COULD NOT HAVE VISITORS. THEY WOULD COME AND JUMP ON ME. ONCE, THEY PUT A HOLE IN MY HEAD. IN FACT THEY KNOCKED ME OUT WITH A STEEL SHIELD, AND WHEN I CAME TO, I HAD BLOOD EVERYWHERE ON ME.

I WAS TORTURED PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY UNTIL I FELT LIKE I NO LONGER WANTED TO LIVE SO I WOULDN'T HAVE TO ENDURE THE SUFFERING. BUT SOMETHING INSIDE OF ME WOULDN'T LET ME DIE. THE FEDS CAME AND TOOK ME OUT OF THAT DARK CELL AND DEMANDED THAT THEY PUT ME UP FRONT WITH THE OTHER INMATES.

I WILL STOP NOW 'CAUSE IT OPENS UP WOUNDS OF PAIN IN MY MIND AND SOUL. I STILL WAKE UP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT SWEATING AND GRASPING; FOR THE DREAMS FEEL SO REAL. I WILL NEVER BE THE SAME.

I PRAY THEY BE STOPPED AT ALL COST -- EVEN THEIR LIVES. I LOVE YOU, MARY NEAL. MY ONLY WISH IS I WISH THERE HAD BEEN A MARY NEAL WHEN I WAS IN PRISON. THERE'S A LOT MORE, BUT I WILL GET A CHANCE TO TELL THE WHOLE STORY ONE DAY. MAY GOD BE WITH YOU AND OTHERS LIKE YOU.

IN FAITH,
Brenda Anderson

RESPONSE:

My dear friend, I am so sorry you endured such hardships. We look forward to presenting your pain and suffering to the International Court, where we will apply for restorative justice for you. We will also ask the United Nations to issue directives for the USA to stop torturing and killing its mentally ill citizens. Thank you so much for having the courage to LIVE and make it to this day when we will seek justice for you and everyone who is similarly situated. So many others never made it out of the hole, Brenda. We must continue to fight for their sake and for every mentally challenged American who lies naked in dark, cold cells tonight, including some who are dying right now in restraint or by Taser -- or by their own hand. We will continue to victory, Brenda, because we must. 

According to Solitary Watch, the U.S. State Department plans to deny systemic use of solitary confinement in its report to the United Nations and claim that American citizens are protected by the U.S. Constitution from such cruel and unusual punishment. The report says in part:

"The United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) forbids any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person” for the purposes of intimidation, coercion, forced confession, or punishment, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. The United States asserts that it is in all cases in alignment with CAT."

Without reports like ours, Brenda, there will be no Change, because the USA will not willingly acknowledge that there are violations of CAT happening. That is why AIMI is gathering testimony from up to 100 victims and families about torture and wrongful deaths of mentally challenged people to present to the U.N. See our website at http://AIMI-HumanRights.blogspot.com . Thank you for being the courageous advocate for human rights that you are and for sharing your story with us. See the full report about the U.S. response to the U.N. at the link below. Many blessings to you and all our claimants in "AIMI vs. USA".

U.S. Government Tells UN Committee on Torture: “There Is No Systematic Use of Solitary Confinement in the United States”
http://solitarywatch.com/2014/10/14/u-s-government-tells-un-committee-on-torture-there-is-no-systematic-use-of-solitary-confinement-in-the-united-states/

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Thank you for giving Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill.

It would be illegal to keep a dog in a tight space 23 hours a day and gas or Taser him for barking. It would be illegal to put a dog in deadly restraint for control. That happens to mentally ill people routinely in the nation's correctional facilities. What happened to Larry Neal?

Mentally Ill Americans Need Dog Justice. Treat mental illness medically, not legally. Please advocate for your congresspersons to pass H.R.3717 - The "Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act." Try to elect people who support human rights and justice for all.

U.N. Investigates USA re Systemic Prison Torture

Families of mentally ill American inmates were astounded to read the headline below in Solitary Watch.com: U.S. Government Tells UN Committee on Torture: “There Is No Systematic Use of Solitary Confinement in the United States” 

I published the following comment at the article: 
With so many super max prisons and solitary jail/prison cells in the USA, it is surprising that the USA would deny its systemic use of solitary confinement. It is estimated that roughly 80,000 inmates are in solitary confinement, some for decades. Over 60 percent of the isolated inmates are mentally ill people who should be treated as psychiatric inpatients or outpatients, not punished for offenses that arose from their health disabilities. Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill (AIMI) plans to file an action in International Court against the USA for long-term homelessness, brutality and wrongful deaths of mentally ill Americans, especially mentally ill inmates who were denied timely psychiatric treatment to prevent offenses that led to harsh punishment. Google “AIMI vs. USA,” which will be filed in 2015. Listen to our Blogtalkradio shows on Wednesdays at 8pm Pacific Time to hear from families in mental health crises. Torturous solitary confinement and denial of visits are two of the most common complaints among family members of mentally ill inmates. [This news was discussed during our regular Wednesday radio episode of Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill at 8pm Pacific on October 15, 2015, which is archived at Blogtalkradio at
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/nnia1/2014/10/16/assistance-to-the-incarcerated-mentally-ill ]

According to Solitary Watch, the USA plans to deny systemic use of solitary confinement in its report to the United Nations and claim that American citizens are protected by the U.S. Constitution from such cruel and unusual punishment. The report says in part:

The United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) forbids “any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person” for the purposes of intimidation, coercion, forced confession, or punishment, “when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity.” The United States asserts that it is in all cases in alignment with CAT. See the "protections" that Americans allegedly have:

The U.S. Constitution, along with federal and state laws, establishes standards of care to which all inmates are entitled…U.S. courts have interpreted the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution as prohibiting the use of solitary confinement under certain circumstances, especially with regard to inmates with serious mental illness or for juvenile detainees. (Specifically, under the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against “cruel and unusual punishments,” correctional facility administrators may not subject inmates to solitary confinement with deliberate indifference to the resulting serious harms, including suicides, suicide attempts, and serious self-injury. See Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 825, 843 (1970); see also, e.g., Madrid v. Gomez, 889 F. Supp. 1146, 1265 (N.D. Cal. 1995) (using prolonged solitary confinement on prisoners with serious mental illness can be “the mental equivalent of putting an asthmatic in a place with little air to breathe”) …

People with mental, physical, and psychological disabilities are not punished with solitary confinement, the U.S. report asserts:

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Rehabilitation Act) restrict and regulate the use of solitary confinement for persons with disabilities. Title II of the ADA, 42 U.S.C. 12132, applies to state actors, while the Rehabilitation Act applies to federal correctional facilities and correctional facilities receiving funds from the federal government. Both statutes prohibit the use of solitary confinement in a manner that discriminates on the basis of disability instead of making reasonable modifications to provide persons with disabilities access to services, programs, and activities, including mental health services. See Pa. Dep’t of Corr. v. Yeskey, 524 U.S. 206, 210 (1998).

THE UGLY TRUTH:  In addition to solitary confinement being systemically used to contain mentally ill inmates, juveniles, and many other prisoners (including those who refuse to work free or nearly free), it is further used to force potentially innocent defendants into plea bargains with trials denied. This typically happens to African Americans. Black people, especially men, are sometimes denied their Sixth Amendment right to fair, speedy, public trials, represented by adequate defense counsel, i.e., Shannon Nyamodi of North Carolina (two years), Terrell Scott of Pennsylvania (five years), and Kalief Browder of New York (three years). Black mental patients regularly experience indefinite detention without trials, which is cruel and unusal punishment. Two unfortunate examples are Mississippi inmates Marktain Kilpatrick Simmons (eight years) and Lee Vernel Knight (seven years).

Numerous commentators at the Solitary Watch article are incredulous over the prospect of the U.S. State Department denying the “systematic use of solitary confinement” in American prisons. Eileen Siple wrote,"In many counties in the US, including Harford County, MD, juveniles charged as adults are automatically placed in solitary within adult jails and prisons “for their own protection”. This can go on for months or years – until they are bailed out, waived down (unlikely), turn 18, or their cases go to trial. Isn’t that systematic?"

How can the State Department deny systemic use of solitary confinement and other torture against American prisoners with evidence and witnesses to the contrary? For example, "Dog Justice for Mentally Ill" blog carries numerous reports and videos documenting brutality and deaths of mentally ill victims in custody, which were also published on mainstream news broadcasts.The denial of systemic prison torture may be possible because a minute percentage of human rights complaints the United Nations receives originate in the United States. In "AIMI vs. the USA," the International Court will be presented with evidence that police and correction officers' often torture, brutalize and sometimes kill mentally ill Americans without incurring criminal charges. Cover-ups are more likely to follow such abuses and deaths. In addition, cruel and degrading treatment against prisoners frequently extends to family members and advocates who demand justice. Following the secret arrest and wrongful death of Larry Neal, this writer's disabled brother who was a lifelong schizophrenic heart patient, his family endured censorship, surveillance, and financial persecution for requesting an explanation about his kidnapping and murder in Memphis Shelby County Jail in 2003. Retaliation for exposing crimes against humanity in America's justice system is common, but human rights advocates must not be deterred. "Silence is the deadliest weapon of mass destruction." ~ Cynthia Mckinney

FIVE REFERENCES:

U.S. Government Tells UN Committee on Torture: “There Is No Systematic Use of Solitary Confinement in the United States” 

http://solitarywatch.com/2014/10/14/u-s-government-tells-un-committee-on-torture-there-is-no-systematic-use-of-solitary-confinement-in-the-united-states/

Two Mississippi Inmates Are Still Awaiting Trial After 7 and 8 Years
http://breakingbrown.com/2014/04/two-mississippi-inmates-are-still-awaiting-trial-after-7-and-8-years/

Catch a Nigga by His Toe (the Kalief Browder story)

http://freespeakblog.blogspot.com/2014/10/catch-nigga-by-his-toe.html

Terrell Scott and Shannon Nyamodi: Forcing a Plea
http://dogjusticeformentallyill.blogspot.com/2013/12/terrell-scott-and-shannon-nyamodi.html

American Prisons - Worst in the World,? by Mari Maxwell, Uloop writer

http://www.uloop.com/news/view.php/117547/American-Prisons-Worst-in-the-World
A poll that was taken showed that out of 10 of the worst prisons in the world, five of them existed within the confines of the United States of America.

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Thank you for giving Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill.

It would be illegal to keep a dog in a tight space 23 hours a day and gas or Taser him for barking. It would be illegal to put a dog in deadly restraint for control. That happens to mentally ill people routinely in the nation's correctional facilities. What happened to Larry Neal?

Mentally Ill Americans Need Dog Justice. Treat mental illness medically, not legally. Please advocate for your congresspersons to pass H.R.3717 - The "Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act." Try to elect people who support human rights and justice for all.

Forced Drugging - Is It Ever Justified?

Below is an excerpt of an invitation by Katherine Hine to the October 8th "Human Rights Demand" show, which regarded enforced drugging. She and other guests on that episode oppose enforced psychiatric treatment, whereas Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill (AIMI) perceives enforced treatment, such as under AOT programs, as necessary for many people with acute mental illness to avoid homelessness, imprisonment, and avoidable deaths. Ms. Hine wrote, in part:

Katherine Hine and Sharon Cretsinger will be guests at 3 p.m. EDT, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2014, on Mary Neal’s daytime call-in broadcast, "Human Rights Demand." Speakers and guests should call to speak on air at (347) 857-3293 or listen by computer at
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/humanrightsdemand/2014/10/08/forced-drugging--is-it-ever-justified We are talking about doing another show about forced confinement.

If anyone wants to make sure to have his or her voice heard, please call. Everyone is welcome to call in. Mental health treatment concerns us all either directly or indirectly.

Among the points that are expected to be made in the broadcast are 10 basic legal reasons why we feel forced drugging in Ohio is unlawful – particularly where forced drugging is ordered as a result of hearings in which no evidence is presented. Most of these grounds apply in other states. Sharon, who is a survivor of psychiatry as well as an MSW with many years of clinical experience within the mental illness system, will address the fact that many if not most people with psychiatric histories are capable of fully recovering without drugging, and that drugging itself can predispose a person to act violently.

See Free John Rohrer campaign
http://en.gravatar.com/jonnylucid

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AIMI members believe that persons with acute mental illness should be hospital inpatients or outpatients as opposed to jail and prison inmates. Our welcome and mission statement from AIMI's Care2 group is published below.

Thank you for joining us in giving Assistance for the Incarcerated Mentally Ill ("AIMI"). Mental health care is a vast area. To be most effective, we will limit our advocacy on this group to issues related to incarcerated mentally ill persons in America and those likely to suffer imprisonment due to their mental disorders. You are already helping the incarcerated mentally ill merely by joining this group!

Most chronically mentally ill persons do not vote or engage in America's political process, yet our legislators determine the direction of their lives. Your participation in this group demonstrates that voters are concerned about mentally ill prisoners. We welcome everyone who is interested in decriminalizing mental illness.

We hope AIMI attracts diffable person who have suffered incarceration. First person accounts are very valuable! Families of mentally ill persons, please share your input. Too often, the family members of mental patients have little voice in policy decisions that impact their lives and the lives of their sick loved ones. Psychiatrists, psychologists, and other mental health care professionals, we welcome you. Law enforcement officers, attorneys, and others who work in the criminal justice system, thank you for joining us.

We will use this group to share our experiences, seek assistance on specific cases, offer and receive advice and encouragement, and to impact public policy by denouncing criminalizing mental illness. We will discuss treatment options and impediments thereto, along with a wide range of topics having to do with mental illness.

It is not necessary for all members of Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill to agree on every topic of discussion, and neither is it likely. However, we will respect and value each other and the rights of each member to express differing views.

We believe prisons have become America's mental institutions in large part because of restrictions against enforced treatment and hospitalization of chronically mentally ill persons.  There is a serious lack of short-term inpatient care and community care for mental health crises that frequently lead to avoidable tragedies.  Long-term hospitalization is frequently needed for patients who require constant monitoring and treatment.  Imprisoning mentally ill Americans is financially wasteful, discriminatory, and inhumane.  No one can be punished into a state of mental health.

Most diffable people are capable of functioning well in society without enforced treatment or confinement. However, our advocacy in this group concentrates on providing humane options for the care of patients who are incarcerated precisely because they require either hospitalization or enforced treatment in their communities.  

In this group, we acknowledge that the decision to put chronically ill patients in charge of their own treatment options (to treat or not to treat) contributed to the criminalization of mental illness. Enforced psychiatric treatment is often necessary for acute mental patients’ safety. These patients are usually expected to make major health decisions while in a demented mental state. We believe someone other than the acute mental patient must be allowed to make their treatment decisions before any tragedy occurs, or mental patients face the likelihood of repeated arrests for crimes committed while in a mental crisis.

AIMI's goal is to gain release from prison for the estimated 1.25 million incarcerated mentally ill Americans in order that they may be treated in their communities or hospitals, depending on the severity of their crimes. AIMI seeks to reverse the trend to imprison rather than treat our mental patients. We believe the laws restricting enforced hospitalization and outpatient therapy often hinder chronically mentally ill persons from receiving needed treatment.

We acknowledge that chronically mentally ill prisoners have a higher rate of return to jail than other inmates precisely because of their tendency to discontinue therapy and lapse back into psychosis. We assert that prison release for the nonviolent offenders should include mandatory treatment, at least during their parole or probationary periods. Inmates who are incarcerated for violent acts should be hospitalized for the duration of their criminal sentences or until their psychiatrists recommend release. Such psychiatric recommendations should be reviewed by the sentencing court. 

If the court agrees with the psychiatrists’ recommendation for prison release, the court should then order the patients' continued psychiatric monitoring and care as outpatients for the duration of their parole or probationary period. Mental patients who are required to receive court-ordered treatment should be zealously sought and remanded to hospitals if they disobey the court and discontinue their treatment at any point while on probation or parole.

Decriminalizing mental illness will not occur unless and until sensible alternatives to prison are available for persons in crisis. We believe that mental hospitalization in extreme cases, and community care under enforced treatment will provide the alternatives that our most severely ill citizens need in order to regain and to retain their freedom from our nation’s correctional institutions.

Welcome to our quest for justice for the incarcerated mentally ill! Thank you for your involvement in this human rights effort.

L.A. County Trades Jail for Treatment

EXTRA! Los Angeles to Offer Treatment Instead of Jail for Mentally Ill Offenders! 

http://www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org/about-us/our-blog/69-no-state/2637-los-angeles-to-offer-treatment-instead-of-jail-for-mentally-ill-offenders

(Sept. 24, 2014) Los Angeles County has announced a plan to help low-level offenders with serious mental illness obtain alternative sentencing, allowing for treatment instead of prison time (“Mental Illness program could transform LA county justice system,” the Los Angeles Times, Sept. 17).

“It is time to stop bouncing people who are mentally ill and genuinely sick between the streets and our jails,” said District Attorney Jackie Lacey. “This is an unconscionable waste of human life and money.”

This project has the potential to not only reduce recidivism rates and encourage humane treatment for the mentally ill, but also set a precedent for the criminal justice system throughout the country, reports the Los Angeles Times.

Read the entire article in "Treatment Advocacy Center" at the first link above.

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Thank you for giving Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill.

It would be illegal to keep a dog in a tight space 23 hours a day and gas or Taser him for barking. It would be illegal to put a dog in deadly restraint for control. That happens to mentally ill people routinely in the nation's correctional facilities. What happened to Larry Neal?

Mentally Ill Americans Need Dog Justice. Treat mental illness medically, not legally. Please advocate for your congresspersons to pass H.R.3717 - The "Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act." Try to elect people who support human rights and justice for all.