Although he died in June, his mother frequently speaks of him in the present tense. She talks about his growing up, his time in the military, and how much he enjoyed working at the PX in Brooklyn.
Speaking as if he is in the other room, she explains that his medications work for him better some times than others, and how he can have good days and bad. At times, as she talks about him, a little smile works its way across her face. Most of the time, though, talking about him brings visible pain. She still can't understand what happened to her son, and hopes that her loss is not repeated for some other parent of a person living with schizophrenia.
She is Mrs. Richardson, mother of Gregory Lee Richardson, whose death occurred in the Albany County Jail on June 28, 1999. Her son spent 18 days in the jail, following his arrest on a number of traffic related infractions. He was a man living with schizophrenia, stuck in a system that was ill-prepared to address his needs.
She is not alone. Here in Albany, the mother of Ralph Tortorici mourns his death last summer. In 1994, Ralph Tortorici took hostage a State University of New York at Albany class, driven by delusions associated with his diagnosis of schizophrenia. A student was injured in the struggle to disarm him, and Ralph was convicted in 1996 of serious felony charges. On August 10, 1999, Ralph Tortorici committed suicide in the Sullivan County Correctional Facility.
Ralph's first encounter with law enforcement was not the day he brought a rifle to the SUNY campus. Rather, it was several years earlier, when as a teenager, he pulled a weapon on a family member. Fearing for her life, the family member called the police -- a logical and proper reaction when one's life is in danger at the hands of another. Little did that family member know that when she called the police, she also determined what system would serve Ralph, or more correctly, fail to serve Ralph, right up until the time of his death.
In the Bronx, the family of William Dean also mourns. On Christmas Day, 1999, following a night of active delusions while in the Franklin Correctional Facility, Mr. Dean died while he was being moved from the medium security prison-not to a hospital, but to a maximum security prison. With reports that are eerily similar to those of Gregory Lee Richardson, a struggle ensued, an injection was given, and shortly thereafter, a check of vital signs revealed no pulse.
William Dean was in prison for a conviction for bribery and assault. Ralph Tortorici was convicted of 11 felonies, and sentenced to 15 to 40 years in prison. Gregory Lee Richardson had already spent more time in jail awaiting disposition of his case than he likely would have upon conviction for the charges pending against him. None of the crimes involving these three men could have resulted in the death penalty; yet all three, living with diagnosable mental illnesses died as inmates.
Are these isolated cases? We do not know. But, four Assembly Standing Committees recently asked just what is happening when the local criminal justice system and the need for mental health services collides. Recognizing the growing trend toward transinstitutionalization, the legislative leaders held a forum to learn more about it, and hopefully find some answers.
Through a joint hearing of the NYS Assembly Committees on Mental Health, Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, Corrections and Codes testimony was heard from the community regarding mental hygiene services in local correctional institutions.
MHANYS testified as part of our on-going call for the adoption of Gregory's Law. In our testimony, we pointed to a total lack of mechanisms in place to serve the mental health needs of people facing the criminal justice system. Today, we have no diversion to move people into the system appropriate for their needs. We have few services available in our jails, and the laws that presently exist do not guarantee treatment while incarcerated. In answering the question of whether the local jails system serves the needs of people living with mental illnesses, we told the committee members, "It appears that we must answer the question with a resounding 'No.' Not only does it fail to serve, but on its worst day, it kills."
You can view the complete text of our testimony by visiting our website at www.mhanys.org.
MHANYS applauds Assemblymembers Jim Brennan, Harvey Weisenberg, Jeffrion Aubry and Joe Lentol for bringing this issue to the legislative fore. MHANYS is leading a statewide effort to work with the NYS legislature to draft, organize around and get adopted into statute Gregory's Law. Please feel free to reach out to us to offer your support, insight or personal experiences with the local criminal justice system.