State of mental health one of life, death

On June 1, correctional officers at Iowa Medical and Classification Center (where I am an inmate) found Alex Mabe dead from hanging. Immediately after his prior release from the Clinical Care Unit (in Fort Madison), where he was for mental health care, he committed bank robbery. He was at IMCC because CCU is slated for closing and was to receive mental health care.

IMCC has the state's forensic psychiatric hospital. However, the administration has insinuated that Mabe's death and its other issues with mental health care are because of the responsibilities involved with their new program. A program whose policy they refuse to follow. Mabe spent 23 hours a day locked in a cell, directly against their policy (see Public Access Policy IO-HO-09, www.doc.state.ia.us).

I am a veteran treated for post-traumatic stress disorder by the Department of Veterans Affairs. IMCC failed to record or follow my diagnosis and treatment plan.

A mental health bill died in Congress because it included touchy provisions about gun control. Iowa legislators were recently stymied over how to spend a surplus $832 million, yet they close CCU and have one psychologist here for about 900 souls. This country is in a mental health crisis and young men such as Mabe will continue to die, casualties of a petty war riddled with battles waged in bipartisanship, budget cutting and incompetent bureaucrats who fail to follow their administrative policies.

George Simons

Iowa Medical and

Classification Center

Coralville