The 3 members of the Oklahoma County Commission are refusing to allow the Federal Justice Dept. entry into the Oklahoma County Jail. The legal showdown stems from a 2009 legal settlement with the federal govt. over the conditions of the deadliest county jail in the nation. The building is continually overcrowded and several legal suits are pending in district court, on behalf of inmates who are dead or severely disabled as a result of the conditions and management. Nolan Clay reports in the Oklahoman; "Oklahoma County commissioners voted unanimously this month to deny the inspection request, despite the risk that refusal could lead to a costly federal lawsuit." "I feel like we've done everything that we could do within our power," said Brian Maughan, chairman of the Board of County Commissioners. "I feel like we have satisfied most of their concerns and we should be given recognition for that." "Attorneys from the Justice Department's civil rights division had asked to tour the jail Nov. 6-10 with their expert consultants "to assess compliance" with a 2009 agreement to improve conditions.The Oklahoman reports in further detail." |
by David Van Risseghem - The Tulsa Frontier reports that Tulsa County avoided another embarrassing lawsuit over a sad tragedy. A young man of questionable mental health missed a court hearing on a nonviolent charge. He was summarily hauled into the jail for failure to appear. No mental health concern was ever followed up on. Then they found him hanging in his cell.
After hearing the full presentation, a prominent Tulsa social justice warrior said something to the effect of "they built a facility for the men but not for the women... that will definitely result in a lawsuit.". Others standing by concurred. They seemed certain that women were being blatantly underserved. But if they were really using the good senses that most of the mental health advocates around them exercised, they'd have been asking; "Why are men being arrested for mental breakdowns at a rate of 10 times that of women?" Men & women develop serious mental illness at relatively similar rates. Mania, and Psychotic Major Depression are certainly as relevant for women. But police seem to find a pretense for arrest more often when a man has a psychotic meltdown. this is dispite the fact that the mentally ill are no more violent than the population as a whole. Infact, they are more vulnerable to being a victim than the general public. I think this says more about our societal fears than our realistic response to actual public dangers. Many of the 'sociologists' on the left still believe that it is impossible for a member of a racial minority to be a racist, because they reason that a minority never attains the power to enact racist behavior. But we have to put away our preset presumptions when we seek to attack the social ills around us. Because sometime's we fall ill to the very sickness we label others with.
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Sooner Politics
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