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Super Max Suicides
Jul. 9th, 2007 06:57 pmThere's a front-page article in the Statesman Journal about how there have been a lot of suicides in the "Super Max" (super-maximum) facility at the State Penitentiary. Color me so not surprised.
The thing about the Oregon corrections laws, is that if you plead "Guilty Except for Insanity" you get sentenced under the Psychiatric Security Review Board instead of the regular penal system, and there's no trading between the two systems so if you get PSRB you go to the hospital and if you get penal you go to jail, and that's it. Period. Even if you really do belong at the other facility, there's no way to transfer you. And there's no pleading down your sentence: you always get the max. Thing is, time at Oregon State Hospital is much nicer than at the pen, and you're actually getting help for your problems, and if you're good you can be released to a half-way house. But a lot of lawyers figure it's better for their client to get two years in jail instead of seven years in the hospital, so a fair number of people get the Pen who should be at OSH. And the people who should be at OSH are the people most likely to act out, and thus are the most likely to get sent to maximum security and Super Max.
In Super Max, you have a small cell, in which you stay 23 hours a day, with almost no human contact besides the guards who come to check on you every half hour (if they're doing their job right). The whole facility is concrete and steel, so every sound echoes, so it's noisy 24-7. It's never completely dark because the guards need to be able to see everybody. If there's a worse environment for a person with a mental illness, I can't think of it off the top of my head. And then they're surprised at the number of suicides and suicide attempts!
The thing about the Oregon corrections laws, is that if you plead "Guilty Except for Insanity" you get sentenced under the Psychiatric Security Review Board instead of the regular penal system, and there's no trading between the two systems so if you get PSRB you go to the hospital and if you get penal you go to jail, and that's it. Period. Even if you really do belong at the other facility, there's no way to transfer you. And there's no pleading down your sentence: you always get the max. Thing is, time at Oregon State Hospital is much nicer than at the pen, and you're actually getting help for your problems, and if you're good you can be released to a half-way house. But a lot of lawyers figure it's better for their client to get two years in jail instead of seven years in the hospital, so a fair number of people get the Pen who should be at OSH. And the people who should be at OSH are the people most likely to act out, and thus are the most likely to get sent to maximum security and Super Max.
In Super Max, you have a small cell, in which you stay 23 hours a day, with almost no human contact besides the guards who come to check on you every half hour (if they're doing their job right). The whole facility is concrete and steel, so every sound echoes, so it's noisy 24-7. It's never completely dark because the guards need to be able to see everybody. If there's a worse environment for a person with a mental illness, I can't think of it off the top of my head. And then they're surprised at the number of suicides and suicide attempts!
