Louisiana has the highest incarceration rate in the United States, with 1,420 inmates per 100,000 residents. However, imprisoning thousands doesn’t mean law enforcement can properly run a facility.
Correctional officers deal with mentally ill inmates on a daily basis, despite their oftentimes inadequate education and training.
The prison in our own backyard, East Baton Rouge Parish Prison, is a prime example of the abuse and negligence that stems from a lack of training and education in handling and treating those with mental illness.
Prison is not supposed to be a comfortable experience, but it’s not supposed to be a torture chamber either. However, that’s what the EBRPP seems to be becoming, especially for mentally ill prisoners. Wrongful death lawsuits claiming gross negligence, racism and deplorable living conditions have been piling up against the EBRPP for years.
According to WAFB, David O’Quin, a 43-year-old inmate at EBRPP diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia was beaten then tied to a chair for six days before receiving any medical treatment or a psychiatric visit. He died from an infection caused by his feces and urine making their way into lacerations on his ankles and wrists.
If a psychiatrist had seen O’Quin when he arrived to EBRPP, guards could have been made aware of his condition, he would have received professional medical attention and his chances of dying from sitting in his own feces would have decreased dramatically.
According to The Advocate, 17-year-old Tyrin Colbert was held in the EBRPP without charges pressed him for 106 days before he was murdered by his cellmate. Colbert, who told prison officials he was suicidal and heard voices, was ignored and consequently murdered. The lawsuit also claims he broke his arm and was unable to receive medical care and X-rays for five days.
We have to change our focus from imprisonment to rehabilitation. Regardless of what crime someone committed, inmates are still humans. Humans can be broken, confused, remorseful and ready to be progressive members of society. But the system is not made for them to be progressive members of society.
Recidivism rates won’t go down until we make it hard for those released to end up back behind bars. For example, missing a payment to a probation officer just once could mean more prison time. For inmates released with little to no job experience or education or suffering from mental illness, these monthly payments can be impossible to make.
Prison reform in Louisiana is an enormous task, but it starts with more common sense laws that focus on rehabilitation, education and the safety and mental health of inmates. Better safety and mental health for inmates requires more education and training for correctional officers, but at the end of the day a correctional officer is still not a medical professional.
About 20 percent of inmates have been diagnosed with a severe mental illness like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. These brain diseases are biological conditions, and they deserve to be treated as such. We should not expect a correctional officer to treat and help an inmate understand mental illness, so a vital step in prison reform is to staff prisons with more psychiatric and medical professionals to provide a support system for inmates.
Prison reform will require money that many do not want to spend, but if we can find money to fully fund TOPS and build a trail from Downtown to Scotlandville, we should be able to find some funds for projects regarding prison reform.
Breanna Smith is a 21-year-old mass communication senior from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.