When Coahoma County sheriff Charles Jones learned about a federal lawsuit alleging a mentally ill man in Cleveland was arrested, jailed and denied basic care, he explained the Department of Justice sent a mandate that a jail is not the place for patients who do something due to a mental illness.
The lawsuit in Cleveland surrounds plaintiff Kenyarda Graham, who has a history of mental illness, was arrested July 4, 2016 and in his jail cell for 20 days. The lawsuit alleged he did not receive treatment for his mental illness until July 24.
Jones, who was elected in 2009, learned soon after he took office that individuals could not be locked up for an action stemming from mental illness.
“Several years ago, the Department of Justice basically sent a mandate that we cannot lock up mental patients because they are disturbing people or causing people problems when it comes down to being loud and saying things maybe they shouldn’t say and just really annoying people,” he said.
“We, basically, shared this information some years ago and now you see that one of our neighboring communities is getting sued for the exact same thing that I’ve been telling people about for the last nine years – that we cannot lock these people up.
“I stuck to my guns and did the right thing. Regardless of what was said, we always try to do the right thing. We always try to do what was right.”
Jones said the chancery clerk’s office is responsible for finding those who are mentally ill a bed. The local facility where those who would not be locked up could go is Region One Mental Health.
“You’ve got the mental health facilities,” he said. “You’ve got the hospital. You’ve got other alternatives. You’ve got other places. These people are sick. They need medical help. This is an illness. This is not a crime. It’s more of an illness than a crime.”
Jones said records would show when an individual is mentally disturbed.
Many of the individuals who are mentally ill have repeat cases that come through the Coahoma County Sheriff’s Office and each time they are transported to Region One Mental Health.
Some of the cases have included individuals yelling through downtown Clarksdale and causing a disturbance.
Jones said, in those types of cases, that does not mean someone needs to go to jail. That means the individual requires medical attention.
“It doesn’t mean that, in certain cases, we won’t incarcerate them, but just because they’re making people uncomfortable with how they’re acting, that’s not a reason to put them in jail,” he said.
Jones is working with other public officials to make sure things are handled properly when it comes to those who are mentally ill.
“We’ve had several conversations about this same subject with the mental facilities and also with the chancery clerk office where they sometimes think locking them up is the thing we need to do, but that’s not the right answer,” he said.
Jones urged members of the community to act as soon as they see an issue and there should be an intervention before it gets to the point someone becomes violent. He noted it should never get to the point where someone is so out of control and has to be transported to Region One Mental Health.
“The problem is people wait too late to try to do something,” he said. “They wait until a person gets too bad before they try to get help. When you see that person start having little problems, that’s the time to go and try to get some help for that person, not wait until it gets to the point where it’s out of control.”
