Mentally Ill on Death Row in USA

Great news! Ohio did not kill Abdul Awkal, the mentally ill man who was scheduled to be executed June 6, 2012. The governor granted him a two-week stay. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/07/opinion/a-stay-of-execution.html "Mr. Awkal, who was convicted of killing his estranged wife and brother-in-law in 1992, has a long history of severe mental illness and has been found mentally incompetent by three courts in the past 20 years." Abdul is so sick that he thinks he is a main adviser for President Obama and former president George Bush. Abdul believes he collaborates with the CIA and runs the nation's operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. That is very sick, and I hope they put the poor man in a mental hospital like they used to do with sick people.

America has 1.25 million mentally ill inmates. Texas has at least two mentally ill people on death row: Andre Thomas and Jeff Wood. Read about Jeff Wood at one of a few articles I wrote about him:
"Scheduled for Texas Execution: Jeff Wood, a Mentally Challenged Young Man"
http://www.nowpublic.com/world/scheduled-texas-execution-jeff-wood-mentally-challenged-young-man

Some of Jeff's family members wrote comments to the article. Jeff was sentenced to death under the "law of parties." That means the State of Texas knows Jeff never killed anyone. In fact, officials know that Jeff was not even at the scene of the murder. Jeff was a retarded teen, and a cunning friend got Jeff to drive with him to a store. The man went into the store while Jeff waited in the truck like he had been told. He robbed and shot the store manager. Poor Jeff is on death row, although Texas already executed the shooter in that robbery.

See the Petition for Andre Thomas launched by Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill at this link    http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/No-Executing-Mental-Patients/

Target: Governor Rick Perry

• Sponsored by: Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill

ANDRE THOMAS, an acute mental patient on Texas Death Row, pulled out his only eye and ate it on January 9.  An officer at the Polunsky Unit found Thomas in his cell with blood streaming down his face and took him to the infirmary.  The schizophrenic inmate had already eaten his left eye in 2004 while in jail awaiting trial after killing his wife and two young children before stabbing himself in the chest. 

Following the murders, this sick man walked to the Sherman Police Department and told a dispatcher what he had done.  Thomas explained that he cut his family's hearts out and put them in his pocket.  He then took his family's hearts home and put them into plastic bags.

A judge subsequently ruled that Thomas was competent to stand trial.
Bobbie Peterson-Cate, Thomas' trial attorney, said, "He is insane and mentally ill."
We, the undersigned petitioners, hereby make the following demands:

1)  Andre Thomas must be immediately removed to a secure mental hospital and prohibited from eating any more of his body parts; and 

2)  Andre Thomas and all other condemned persons with a history of mental illness must be immediately and permanently rendered ineligible for capital punishment and reassigned to mental institutions for permanent containment and psychiatric treatment.

We strongly object to imprisoning people because they are mentally disturbed and executing people whose criminal offenses were caused by mental illness.
Thank you.

Don't Execute the Mentally Ill, America

It is illegal to execute the mentally ill, but laws are selectively ignored. Awkal Abdul is a Muslim man with brown skin and disqualified from whatever criterion one must meet to be spared from capital punishment like wealthy people are and certain police officers who the public has seen kill without provocation on videos. Awkal is scheduled to be executed on June 6, and there are six links in this article.

Youngstown News reports:"Awkal was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder. He is reported to have had delusions that included a belief that he managed the U.S. military efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, and that he has been in direct communication with the CIA and Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama." See the entire article at this link to Youngstown News     http://www.vindy.com/news/2012/jun/03/inmate-fights-to-avoid-death/?newswatch The reporter reminded readers about Ohio's Romell Broom execution debacle in September 2009. Broom was tortured for hours while executioners tried to find his veins to infuse his body with poison. Broom became so distraught that he started to cry and tried to help the guards find his veins and kill him. Finally, Gov. Strickland stopped the barbaric execution. Brommel's torture was one of the horror stories in my article entitled: "Prison Torture in the USA, by Mary Neal" at this link http://freespeakblog.blogspot.com/2009/09/prison-torture-within-usa-by-mary-neal.html

Experts recently determined that another innocent man was executed.The Atlantic carried the report on May 14, 2012: "Carlos DeLuna was put to death in December 1989 for a murder in Corpus Christi. But he didn't commit the crime." He was killed for a crime done by another Carlos: Carlos Hernandez. To read more about the case in The Atlantic, use this link http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/05/yes-america-we-have-executed-an-innocent-man/257106/

These are the circumstances that We the People permit by allowing capital punishment to continue: (1) Mentally ill people like Awkal are killed, (2) condemned people like Broom are sometimes tortured in horrible acts of barbarism sanctioned by the State and funded by taxpayers, and (3) occasionally, innocent people like Carlos Deluna die. A fourth consideration is that race and class matter in deciding which accused murderers face capital punishment as their penalty. This is partly because poor and working class people are less able to afford good legal counsel. Public defenders continue to be underfunded and overwhelmed by heavy caseloads. All of those circumstances can be eliminated only by repealing the death penalty. Furthermore, Ohio residents likely need the extra money that death penalty cases require.

People who do not want to repeal capital punishment to save lives may be interested repealing it to save money. According to Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC), it costs states an average of $70,000 more per year for each condemned inmate than it would cost for the inmate to LIVE in a maximum security prison. This is outrageous, since $70k is more money than most American families of four have as their annual income. It is more humane, fair, and economical to repeal capital punishment like Connecticutt recently did when it became the seventeenth state to say "DEATH TO THE DEATH PENALTY." DPIC offers an audio presentation related to the cost of capital punishment at its online site and this link http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/episode-3-cost

It is not likely that Ohio will repeal capital punishment in time to save Awkal. But there is still time for some righteous judge or for the Board of Pardons and Paroles in Ohio to call off the murder of a sick man. Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. made a simple request over four decades ago. He said, "All we say to America is, 'Be true to what you said on paper.'" Our law says it is illegal to execute the mentally ill because of their compromised sense of reason. Let us insist that the justice system must obey its own laws. A petition to stop the execution is at this link  http://www.change.org/petitions/commute-the-death-sentence-of-abdul-awkal

Thank you in advance for calling and emailing Ohio's justice officials and governor. http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml Use this link for any officials.

A man is about to be executed today. I would protest even if he were not mentally ill, because government officials and systems are too corrupt to have power over who lives and who dies.

Mary NealAssistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill

http://www.care2.com/c2c/group/aimi

Dog Justice for Mentally Ill

http://DogJusticeforMentallyIll.blogspot.com

The Kelly Thomas Murder by Police

DOG JUSTICE FOR THE MENTALLY ILL

The murder of Kelly Thomas, a mentally ill homeless man was caught on video. He was beaten to death by six police officers in Fullerton, California. The video by RT is at YouTube http://youtu.be/yn8CE5ISUSw . See the murder on video embedded below:

Mother of Homeless, Mentally Ill Kelly Thomas Awarded $1 million after His Death by Police Violence - Cathy Thomas will receive $1 million from the city [Fullerton, CA]. Her son Kelly died after a violent confrontation with six police officers. ... The mother of a mentally ill homeless man who died after he was beaten by Fullerton police has ... At one point, Ramos put on a pair of gloves and told Thomas, "See these fists?"    http://articles.latimes.com/2012/may/16/local/la-me-0516-kelly-thomas-settlement-20120516

No monetary award of any amount actually "makes one whole" after the wrongful death of a loved one, especially violent death by police who are paid to keep the peace in society and protect people and our property. However, since no one can restore life, we congratulate Fullerton, CA for doing what is right and paying damages to Kelly's family. The murder of my own brother, Larry Neal, continues to be dealt with differently - a cover-up conspiracy that has endured for nearly nine years, with attempts made to censor and persecute his family for refusing to join in the cover-up. When people are killed after arrest rather than in public and on video, like Kelly was, those murders are frequently subjected to cover-ups rather than justice. If the six officers had put Kelly in their police car and transported him to jail before beating him to death, would his family have been dealing with an elaborate cover-up today rather than open disclosure and restitution? That is often the situation in jail deaths. See WrongfulDeathOfLarryNeal.com . Mentally or physically challenged people like Kelly Thomas and Larry Neal are as important as any other person. Every life is precious in the sight of God, and all people deserve to have their human and civil rights honored and protected. Affirming that truth is the point of this blog and Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill (AIMI) at http://www.care2.com/c2c/group/aimi . Strangely, dogs have more rights than some people do.

Cops to Be Tried in Alleged Fatal Beating of Homeless Man Caught on Video http://youtu.be/yn8CE5ISUSw - "Manuel Ramos, a police officer from Fullerton, California, has been charged with second degree murder for allegedly beating a mentally-ill homeless person to death last year. His co-worker, Officer Jay Cicinelli, faces charges of involuntary manslaughter and excessive use of force. This video from a surveillance camera shows Kelly Thomas, the victim, pleading for his life while the officers beat him on the street."

Murders and abuses by police officers should be dealt with in the same way as those crimes are by any other persons. Authorities must stop helping to cover-up abuses of power. That would improve relationships between police departments and communities they serve and improve the work environment for honest peace officers who often feel conflicted regarding their sworn oath to serve and protect as opposed to going against the "brotherhood" and reporting crimes by their co-workers. While animal rights have been strengthened over the past few years, the rights for mentally ill people are too often ignored. Thank you for your interest in awarding Dog Justice for the Mentally Ill.

Kelly Thomas After Beating

Mary Neal, director of Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill (AIMI) and Dog Justice for the Mentally Ill Program, and the members of this organization object to police brutality and request conviction of Kelly Thomas's murderers.

*****

Thank you for giving Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill.

Mary Neal, director

MaryLovesJustice@gmail.com

Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill ("AIMI")

http://www.care2.com/c2c/group/aimi

AIMI's broadcast on Blogtalkradio, 9pm PDT on Wednesdays

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/nnia1

Website about my brother: Wrongful Death of Larry Neal

http://WrongfulDeathofLarryNeal.com/main.html

Follow our "Dog Justice for Mentally Ill" blog

http://DogJusticeforMentallyIll.blogspot.com

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. This happens to mentally ill Americans routinely in the nation's jails and prisons. What happened to Larry Neal?

Mentally Ill Americans Need Dog Justice. Treat mental illness medically, not legally. Please advocate for the U.S. Congress to pass H.R.3717 - Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act. Elect only people who support human rights and justice for all.

Wife of PTSD Veteran Arrested and Banned from Glynn County, Georgia Because of His Hallucinations

Should authorities arrest and banish family members or neighbors of acute mental patients who hallucinate about crimes that have no basis in fact?

 Nathaniel Hickman

1)     This is an excerpt from an article that was originally published in December 2011. Since publication, Yvonne Hickman filed lawsuits in connection with her wrongful banishment from her home which resulted from her husband's hallucinations. She discovered that a Glynn County attorney has actually DIVORCED HER FROM HER HUSBAND in September 2011 without notifying her. She says her ordeal is reminiscent of slavery when black families were regularly separated by others. Ms. Hickman filed a motion to contest the divorce, and it is pending as I publish this update.


2)    Yvonne Hickman was arrested and banished from Glynn County, Georgia on December 3, 2009, because her husband (pictured above), a Vietnam War veteran who the government declared 100% mentally incompetent, said she keeps running him over with her car. The disabled veteran's wife relays her two-year ordeal on the five(5) videos at the links below that are a part of this paragraph 2. Video 1 of 5 - http://youtu.be/xjp_jY7so8A is embedded below:



Video 2 - http://youtu.be/9tWPhk7A_yc - short url http://goo.gl/iD7EA
Video 3 - http://youtu.be/hTchRFjdLnw - short url http://goo.gl/3F0QG
Video 4 - http://youtu.be/QD1kaf4vkeI - short url http://goo.gl/XCJkt
Video 5 - http://youtu.be/WsnEQaqtEyg  - short url http://goo.gl/U6e7Z  

3) Ms. Hickman relayed the following information: On December 30, 2011, after publishing the videos above, all of the emails in her gMail account were stolen. This was likely done to prevent her communication with lawyers, organizations and individuals who could help her. Families with mentally ill members typically find it challenging ascertaining adequate care and justice in America, but some of us are prevented from communicating about it. I protest my own disabled brother's lynching while under secret arrest in 2003. See "Open Letter to President Obama from Mary Neal" at http://goo.gl/uo6se . I received no response after writing to the president and justice officials (second letter at the link). I made phone inquiries in February 2012. Since then, I experience a denial of service whenever I try to log in at Care2 Network, where my advocacy organization is - Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill, which I spent thousands of hours developing.

4)    The Hickmans were one of only two African American families in the Somersby Point community as far as Ms. Hickman knows. She relates that the house is in foreclosure and her husband is incapable of saving it without her assistance. Ms. Hickman wonders if she was banned following allegations by the sick veteran because of housing discrimination. If so, these events are reminiscent of mob violence in  Forsyth County, GA in 1912. Thousands of blacks were forced to flee for their lives, leaving their homes and personal property behind. PBS Georgia reports the story at this link: BANISHED: AMERICAN ETHNIC CLEANSINGS - http://goo.gl/lKKl2 - It is my understanding that Forsyth County is now a thriving community where people of all races live together in harmony.


5)     Ms. Hickman invites inquiries at her email address: YvonneHickman56@gmail.com .  She states, "My home is in foreclosure, my business is lost, and my husband is sick and needs me. I am deprived of my friends and community, and my enforced banishment caused alienation of my husband's affection. Additionally, I am extorted of $35 monthly for supervision fees by Sentinel Offender Services LLC although I've been convicted of nothing and am denied a trial on my husband's allegations. I deserve an opportunity to clear my name." In essence, the Hickmans were forced to "jump the broom" backwards and dissolve their marriage. She speaks of this in video 5 at the link above.  

6)     Mr. Hickman was declared 100% mentally incompetent and unemployable by the U.S. Veterans Administration and Social Security Administration. On December 3, 2009, while his wife was driving to Wal-Mart, he called her and said that he was having her arrested. Shortly thereafter, a policeman stopped Ms. Hickman and arrested her because her husband had reported to police that Ms. Hickman had run over him in her car. Mr. Hickman's report was based on hallucinations or a desire to file a false insurance claim for financial gain. Mr. Hickman had no injuries and his wife's car had no damages. Yet police arrested Ms. Hickman on the sick vet's word alone. After spending the night in jail, Ms. Hickman was released only after agreeing to supervision by Sentinel Offender Services LLC, and she was told to leave Glynn County immediately and never return except for court or attorney appointments with prior permission. 


7)     She was forced to leave Glynn County with only the clothes on her back. Finally in May 2010, a judge gave Ms. Hickman a court order allowing her to remove her possessions from the couple's home only if supervised by a police officer. She drove from Maryland in June 2010 to do that and parked at a vacant lot near her home, then called police and awaited police oversight.

8)    The problems started when Mr. Hickman also called police because he saw her parked near their home. He ran to neighbors' houses and beat on their doors, asking them to please call 911. He reported  that his wife had just run over him a second time. After that, he went to Ms. Hickman's car and started raving at her, which was caught on the 911 tape, because Ms. Hickman was on the phone with non-emergency 911 during his rant. The operator instructed Ms. Hickman to stay inside her car with the windows up until police arrived. Police and an ambulance responded. Although Mr. Hickman had no injuries and his wife's car had no damage, Glynn County Police jailed Ms. Hickman, this time for two weeks. She was released under a $10,000 bond.

9)   Yvonne Hickman sought help from numerous human and civil rights organizations about her wrongful arrests and banishment from Glynn County, but she feels that she got the runaround. Georgia has numerous civil rights icons and major organizations are nationally renowned, but African Americans who are blatantly wronged by the system have substantial trouble getting help, just as my family is denied assistance getting records and accountability for the secret arrest and wrongful death of my disabled brother, Larry Neal. His murder is revealed in http://WrongfulDeathOfLarryNeal.com - Unfortunately, police allow (or do) my censorship and stalking and other persecution for asking how and why Larry was killed, and civil rights/ human rights organizations are too intimidated or sold-out to help. [UPDATE: Ms. Hickman spent March 19, 2012, visiting members of the Black Congressional Caucus in Washington and speaking with a laison in Al Sharpton's office. The outcome of her endeavors will be revealed in a subsequent article.]

10)     Ms. Hickman appeared on the Rev. Pinkney Show in December 2011. Listen at this link:  http://www.blogtalkradio.com/rev-pinkney/2011/12/11/pinkney-to-pinkney - People nationwide are given a voice by Rev. Edward Pinkney, an activist pastor after the order of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., president of B.H. BANCO organization and president of the Benton Harbor chapter of the NAACP.

11) The justice system is flawed, especially regarding how mental illness is addressed. This is evidenced by my brother's murder after 18 days of secret arrest and by what is happening to the Hickmans. Is it right to arrest and ban a wife from her home and sick spouse because he hallucinates and calls police and makes unsubstantiated allegations against his spouse? What will happen to Mr. Hickman now that his wife cannot step foot in Glynn County? Will the couple lose everything? The drama has been ongoing for two years. With two felonies against her, Ms. Hickman no longer qualifies for the top security clearance work she did for 23 years for the U.S. Government. 

12) Military personnel that served in Iraq are transitioning home after eight years. Many of the soldiers served multiple tours of duty. An estimated 56% of battlefield soldiers have post traumatic stress syndrome to some degree. Is it fair to acute mental patients to let them send away their caretakers? Can your mentally challenged loved one or neighbor call police, accuse you of abuse, and have you arrested and banned from your city with no evidence to substantiate the allegation?

13) Advocacy article by Mary Neal, human and civil rights activist; director of Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill ("AIMI") http://www.care2.com/c2c/group/aimi , an online advocacy organization to decriminalize mental illness and end capital punishment; chairperson of the Davis/MacPhail Truth Committee, organized to petition the USDOJ and GBI to re-investigate Officer MacPhail's murder in honor of Troy Davis' request to "keep fighting this fight"; organizer of the Human Rights for Prisoners March, a daily online march to benefit inmates, parolees, and probationers (an in-person march to be announced); sister of slain mentally, physically disabled American, Larry Neal, who was secretly arrested for 18 days in 2003 and killed. Larry was returned to our family as a naked corpse with all requests for records and accountability DENIED for eight years and counting; writer and organizer commissioned by God to advocate for the least of these, His brethren, and so are YOU (Proverbs 31:8). Thanks for visiting DogJustice blog. Please share the link to help others learn about problems people face and about advertisers who offer solutions: http://DogJusticeforMentallyIll.blogspot.com

Dog Justice Poem for Mentally Ill

See the "Dog Justice" poem below. It was used by "Stolen Lives Project" and is republished by prison activists everywhere who realize that the mentally ill comprise over half of America's massive prison rolls - 1.25 million people. The mentally ill usually stay in prison longer (no good time), have a higher rate of recidivism, and endure harsher living conditions as inmates, including solitary confinement, brutality, and in my brother's case, murder. DOG JUSTICE poem tells my story. With DOG JUSTICE blog, let's tell yours.

DOG JUSTICE, by Mary Neal (All rights reserved)
http://WrongfulDeathOfLarryNeal.com
Too bad you weren't a dog, my brother

In my heart, I cried

Many more people would care about you

And wonder why you died


You had no spots or floppy ears

You never fetched a ball

Instead, you were a human being

But poor, black, and flawed


You died in jail for mental illness

I know down in my heart

Your death would be investigated

If only you could bark


Dog deaths get swift justice

Their abusers are sent to jail

Poor Mama would have closure now

If you'd had a wagging tail


But you were made in God's image

And some day, I have no doubt

The mentally ill and American dogs

Will have at least equal clout

***********

SECRET ARREST AND WRONGFUL DEATH OF LARRY NEAL
18 days of secret incarceration in Memphis Shelby County Jail and death on August 1, 2003 under circumstances that are illegally withheld from Larry's family. Federal and Shelby County officials refuse to respond to federal subpoena or Freedom of Information Act requests for information and records regarding Larry's fatal incarceration. 
PEOPLE NEED DOG JUSTICE IN THE USA.

We Mad Climb Shaky Ladders

JAIL IS THE LAST THING THAT MENTAL PATIENTS NEED, AND TOO OFTEN, IT IS THE VERY LAST THING THEY EXPERIENCE. Please join our effort to decriminalize mental illness. No one deserves to be punished for having a disability.

Advertisement

We Mad Climb Shaky Ladders, by Pamela Spiro Wagner

(LaurelBooks) [Paperback] Amazon.com

"The poet's ability to examine her behavior is both edifying and harrowing." ~Baron Wormser

http://www.amazon.com/Mad-Climb-Shaky-Ladders-LaurelBooks/dp/1933880104

Pamela Spiro Wagner is an accomplished writer, artist and poet who has mental health challenges. She shares her experiences in her poetry and http://wagblog.wordpress.com/author/wagblog/ - the link for her pupular blog.


After a lifetime of psychiatric disability, Pamela Spiro Wagner co-authored DIVIDED MINDS: Twin Sisters and Their Journey Through Schizophrenia (St Martins Press, 2005) with her identical twin sister, Carolyn S. Spiro, MD, a psychiatrist. There are now and have always been people like Pam who made valuable contributions to society despite mental illness. No one deserves to be incarcerated for having a common, treatable health condition.

*******

Bipolar Disorder? Schizophrenia? Manic Depression? Alzheimer's? Dementia? PTSD? Post Partum Depression? Autism? See who else has/had mental disorders:

Buzz Aldrin (astronaut) • Adam Ant (musician) • Ludwig van Beethoven (composer) • Napoleon Bonaparte (political leader) • Tim Burton (artist, director) • Lord Byron (poet) • Dick Cavett (television journalist) • Winston Churchill (politician) • Charles Dickens (author) • DMX, Dark Man X (Earl Simmons) (musician, actor) • Robert Downey Jr. (actor) • Richardy Dreyfuss (actor) • Patty Duke (actress) • Ralph Waldo Emerson (author) • Carrie Fisher (Actress, writer) • Larry Flynt (publisher, activist) • Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (Writer) • Connie Francis (singer) • Stephen Fry (actor, comedian writer) • Peter Gabriel (musician) • Alan Garner (novelist) • Matthew Good (musician) • Philip Graham (publisher, businessman) • Macy Gray (musician, actor) • Graham Greene (English Novelist) • Ivor Gurney (English composer, poet)• Sean LeVert (singer) • Patrick Kennedy (Congressman) • Elvis Presley (singer, actor) • Britney Speers (singer) • Somebody you love!

DogJustice Blog is a place for the mentally challenged and their family members and professional service providers in the psychiatric, drug rehabilitation, and legal fields to meet and share information with the public. Please use the blue "follow this blog" icon to be notified about posts by people in your community who need assistance and to learn about goods and services that are available. Help decriminalize mental illness by inviting your friends. Remove barriers to adequate care and legal services to eliminate incarceration and homelessness and greatly reduce the necessity for hospitalization. Contact me at MaryLovesJustice@gmail.com , phone 678.531.0262, and/or comment in the comments field below. If you are interested in becoming a co-host for DogJustice site, a contributing member, or an advertiser, please state your interest. Advertisers pay a nominal quarterly fee, and your ads stay online indefinitely. Non-advertising members join free and are asked to regularly post the DogJustice links for your stories and those of other members in social media. Working together, we will reduce the stigma associated with mental illness, relieve suffering families, and replace imprisonment with adequate care.

JAIL IS THE LAST THING THAT MENTAL PATIENTS NEED, AND TOO OFTEN, IT IS THE VERY LAST THING THEY EXPERIENCE. Please join our effort to decriminalize mental illness. No one deserves to be punished for having a disability.

Rodriquez Nelson: 56-yr sentence for domestic altercation

Mary Nelson's heart endured too much stress when her son was victimized by the injustice system due to his inappropriate conduct caused by mental illness. She suffered a heart attack during her son's first ordeal as a domestic violence defendant. Mary said she expressed concern to her son's girlfriend soon after meeting her. Rodriquez Nelson was an eligible bachelor in his mid-twenties, but Mary knew he was unable to handle a romantic relationship and the demands of fatherhood. Mary explained to the young woman several times that Rodriquez was mentally challenged, and she detailed his psychiatric history. Rodriquez's story is in this article, which has nine(9) links.

Dog Justice needed for Rodriquez Nelson, a retarded, mentally ill man

sentenced to 56 years in prison because of a domestic dispute; no lasting injuries

A petition link will be added the week of March 20, 2012
Mary Nelson - email address mary0771@att.net  - Phone number (870) 703-6626
Please share this link to Rodriguez's story http://goo.gl/0s27x

The romance between Rodriquez and the young woman happened despite his mother's concerns, and they had three children together. Rodriquez continued to live with his mother. He was unable to meet his girlfriend's expectations, and their relationship was tense at times. Rodriquez was arrested on domestic violence charges twice in incidents that were a year apart. There were no lasting injuries from either fight the couple had. The second time they fought, Rodriquez received a 56-year-sentence. Rodriquez and Arkansas taxpayers are paying dearly for Rodriquez's offense, which arose because of his mental incapacity. Physical altercations between couples should not happen, but they are common. Most men and women are released in days after domestic violence, if an arrest occurs at all. Rodriquez's 56-year prison sentence is excessive. He has already been imprisoned one year for the physical altercation he and his girlfriend had, but he still has 55 years remaining. The facts of the case are presented in fifteen(15) numbered paragraphs below:

1. Age 32, unmarried black male
2. June 2011 - date of imprisonment
3. 56-year sentence
4. Charges: domestic violence, aggravated residential burglary, child endangerment - Nelson had a physical altercation with his children's mother. There was no burglary, according to inmates' mom. The child endangerment charge was added because the couple's children were present in the home while the altercation happened.
5. Nelson and his girlfriend have three daughters - age 7, twins age 3
6. Nelson's public defender had him plead guilty to all charges. He and his mother thought the guilty plea was in exchange for a light sentence, but apparently that was not the case
7. Nelson was born with retardation and was diagnosed as being mentally ill at an early age
8. He has the mentality of a person age 12 or less; illiterate
9. Social security since childhood - total disability
10. Nelson's first domestic violence offense occurred a year before, in June 2010. He was arrested and released; he received no follow-up regarding psychiatric treatment the judge ordered
11. After the second incident in 2011, Nelson was sent to a mental hospital for one month before imprisonment
12. East Arkansas Regional Unit - general population
13. ADC Inmate Population - Nelson's prison number is 150296
14. Nelson's girlfriend objects to Nelson getting a 56-yr sentence for the altercation they had
15. Mary Nelson reports that her son is kind and gentle and does well when he takes his medication properly, but like many mental patients who are not under a mandate to continue treatment, he lapsed

Mary Nelson would appreciate your help: email address mary0771@att.net phone (870) 703-6626. A petition for Rodriquez Nelson will be posted at this site. Compare Nelson's sentence to the sentence served by a San Francisco B.A.R.T. officer who shot an unarmed, fully subdued young man named Oscar Grant on January 1, 2009. He served 11 months in prison. Rodriquez Nelson, his mother and girlfriend ask for your prayers and support on a petition to REMOVE EXCESSIVE SENTENCING FOR RODRIQUEZ NELSON. Mary Nelson requests legal assistance. She feels that her son should not have been induced to sign a guilty plea and sentenced to 56 years in prison for his offense.

Rodriquez Nelson - Arkansas http://goo.gl/TL7is 

Ouachita River Correction Unit

Expected date of release is listed as 06/05/2031

These are the facts of the case concerning Mr. Nelson according to his mother. Mary spelled her son's name "Rodriguez," but the "g" is a "q" on the Arkansas DOC database, so I changed it in this article. 

See a short film about dogs who receive no care. Medicaid insurance was removed for inpatient psychiatric hospitals in the 1970s, and the nation's first private prisons were established as hundreds of thousands of mentally ill Americans were released from hospitals without provisions for subsistence assistance and continuous psychiatric treatment. This made our communities less safe, added billions per year to America's prison costs, and wrongly penalizes people for having a common, treatable health condition. Acute mental patients in America who are indigent or middle class and unable to pay for psychiatric health care have a plight similar to thrown-away dogs, but they lack animal rights protections. Abuse, murders, homelessness, suicides, and imprisonment are common outcomes, even for veterans suffering from post traumatic stress syndrome.



Unfortunately, 1.25 million of America's inmates are mentally ill. They generally serve longer prison terms than other inmates and often have their sentences lengthened after imprisonment due to their lack of understanding of and inability to comply with prison rules. Roughly 60 percent of inmates in cruel solitary confinement are mentally ill. Prisons have basically replaced mental hospitals and community care in America, although the expense is staggering. PEW reported that incarceration costs were over $50 billion per year in 2009. The estimate rises to around $300 billion per year when factoring in police services, court costs, and attorneys for indigent defendants. Assisted outpatient treatment programs reduced arrests, hospitalization, homelessness, and imprisonment by over 85% among New York program participants compared to their rates three years before program participation. AOT program participants receive subsistence assistance if needed and mandated psychiatric monitoring. Precisely because imprisoning rather than treating mentally challenged Americans is lucrative for prison owners and investors, cyber censorship is applied to online work to decriminalize mental illness. Like all successful human and civil rights advocacy, rendering Dog Justice for Mentally Ill people has opponents. Please use the comment field below to express your opinions and notify us if any of the nine(9) links herein fail.

For more information, please contact Rodriguez Nelson's mother or Mary Neal. This is an advocacy article by
Mary Neal, Director of Dog Justice for Mentally Ill http://DogJusticeforMentallyIll.blogspot.com

Director of Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill http://www.care2.com/c2c/group/aimi

Website: Wrongful Death of Larry Neal http://WrongfulDeathOfLarryNeal.com

Please share the Nelsons' story using this link http://goo.gl/0s27x

JAIL IS THE LAST THING THAT MENTAL PATIENTS NEED, AND TOO OFTEN, IT IS THE VERY LAST THING THEY EXPERIENCE. Please join our effort to decriminalize mental illness. No one deserves to be punished for having a disability.

INVITATION: Dogged out mentally challenged people, families, friends, human and civil rights advocates, and the community are invited to join DogJusticeforMentallyIll blog and post your stories and viewpoints  at no cost. Notify me at MaryLovesJustice@gmail.com or by phone 678.531.0262 if you would like to publish your story or observations about mental health care.
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PROFESSIONALS: Limited memberships are reserved for advertisers. See a complimentary Salvation Army ad at this link http://goo.gl/00BgK (the next blog). Post up to two public service ads per quarter for a nominal fee. Tell Dog Justice members and the world about your second chance act, substance abuse program, counseling and treatment center, adult day care, psychiatry practice, law firm, church missionary outreach program and prison ministry, book regarding prisons or mental health (other ads will be considered). Ads remain online at Dog Justice blog unless you request removal. DogJustice blog members continually publish this blog address online as they seek to help themselves and other members, meaning that your ads will enjoy wide visibility indefinitely. Working together, we can decriminalize mental illness in America and end health discrimination.

MENTAL HEALTH THERAPY SAVES LIVES AND MONEY