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Show PACE A4 Tuesday, April 15, 1997 Davis County Cupper m our opinion Society must find humane way to help criminally insane The death of Utah State Prison inmate Michael Valent has brought to light what some are calling a barbaric form of torture of mentally ill patients. It also raises the question of what is appropriate discipline at the prison. Since we emptied the mental institutions in the 80s more and more mentally ill people have found themselves in trouble with the law. There are hundreds of mentally ill prisoners in Utah. Valent, a died March 20 from a schizophrenic, blood clot that hit his lungs after he was strapped into a restraining chair for 16 hours. The restraining chair was introduced at the prison in April 1996. Since then, 94 mentally ill and 16 unruly inmates have been strapped into the chair. But never for disciplinary reasons according to Jack Ford prison spokesperson. But Ford also said that the chair had been ordered by the prison warden for inmates involved in stuffing toilets to cause them to overflow flooding cells and cell blocks. That sounds like the chair was used for disciplinary reasons. Ford also said Mentally ill prisoners placed in the chair are left there only until they are in control or calm. One mentally ill prisoner was in the chair for five days. Current prison policy sets no limit. The chair manufacturer recommends a person spend no longer than four hours in the chair at a time. How can a mentally ill prisoner learn that being placed in the chair is a punishment for his inappropriate behavior? What works with the mentally ill? The chair places prisoners in a sitting position with their hands and feet bound. There is no head rest. There is a catheter for urination and a hole in the chair to defacate through. The chairs come equipped with soft restraints but after an incident during which an inmate cut through the restraints, those have been replaced with handcuffs at the prison. In the case of Valent he was strapped into the chair when prison officials say he became suicidal. Current law requires the use of the chair be coupled with continuous observation by a trained clinician every two hours. Some experts say the chair should never be used to alter behavior of a mentally ill person only to quell an emergency. Valent had been a patient for several years at the Utah State Hospital after he killed his grandmother. Prison spokesman Jack Ford said the hospital said they had done all they could for Valent and he was sent to the prison. The question remains, would Valent's grandmother be alive today if he had been institutionalized and kept out of society? The prison said its hands are tied when a mentally ill prison; er acts out or refuses to take medication. Due to a lawsuit by a prisoner in 1980 the prison cannot force medication on prisoners. Ford said when someone decides to stop taking his medication it takes at least four weeks to get doctors and the courts to agree that the prison can force him to take his medication. Valent had not taken medication for two weeks. Since his death the prison has filed a motion to vacate the order which keeps the prison from forcing prisoners to take medications. While the courts sort out the claims, mentally ill prisoners continue to face the ambiguity of the law. The question remains, would Valents grandmother be alive today if he had been institutionalized and kept out of society? It is important that civil rights be guarded. It is important that the mentally ill be given every opportunity to progress. But it is also important that they not become prisoners because they are not equipped to deal with society. Maybe its time to look at the decision made in the 80s to open the doors of the mental instituare legendary, tions. The horror stories of patient but has it really changed? Now it seems instead of being mistreated in a hospital they are being mistreated in prison. The issue in the 80s was civil rights and money. Surely it costs more to keep the mentally ill in prison than it would in an institution. With hundreds of mentally ill prisoners incarcerated in Utah, we can only hope this incident will open up dialog to find a humane way to deal with the mentally ill. nt Coaches say In the fact-base- woods was the perfect David vs. Goliath story. But in Indiana, future Davids can put away their slingshots. They wont get another crack at slaying the beast. Due to reclassification, small Indiana school sports teams w ill only play schools of similar size in championship tournaments. The same issue is currently being examined in Davis County. had a definite view on the subject but last week a handful of coaches told me my opinions were based on false assumptions. They might be 1 Clipper Publishing Co., Inc. 1370 South 500 West P.0 Box 267 Bountiful, Utah 8401 ADMINISTRATION R. 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Mailed $35 00 per year. y on Publication No. (USPS ISSN: 1061-122published Tuesday and Friday except the week of Christmas and New Years at Bountiful, Utah. Periodical postage paid at Bountiful, Utah. Address all correspondence to P. O. Box 267, Bountiful, Utah 84011-0267- . 149-180- ) right; if something appears to make too much sense, maybe its time to sit back and reevaluate it. The Utah high school tradition is that big schools play big schools while small schools compete against small schools. Its hard to question the fairness of this policy. If a school with 2,000 students played a football game against a school with 200 students, we all know which team would win unless the larger school disabled itself by strapping sandbags on the legs of its halfbacks and its offensive and defensive linemen. But the fairness issue becomes more murky when a school with 2.500 students takes on a school with 1,800 students. In football, the additional pool of students would favor the chances of a larger school, but the fortunes of other sports-baske- tball, golf, tennis, etc. shouldnt be significantly impaired. High school championships can often he won due to great players on a basketball team, two great pitchers on a baseball team or a preeminent star player on a soccer team. A school with 1.500 students (like Bountiful High) has nearly as much of a chance of fielding these athletes as a school with 2,300 students (like Viewmont High). For this reason, 1 supported the idea that medium-size- d schools like Bountiful High and Woods Cross High should not be reclassilevels in athletic comfied to petition. When it came to region competition, I argued. Bountiful and Woods Cross would have a more natural rivalry with Viewmont High and Davis High than smaller 4A schools like Olympus and Judge Memorial. In my mind, there would be little interest in a game between Bountiful and Logan or Woods Cross and Murray to say nothing of the longer travel involved. Let the schools play their neighbors, 1 proclaimed and 1 hacked the current proposal being floated to keep Bountiful and Woods Cross at 5A schools and place all of Davis County in the same region. 4-- But the coaches say I formed a opinion. There are no natural rivalries, they claim. There is not significantly more interest in a Bountiful vs. Davis game than a Bountiful too-has- ty vs. Tooele game. The attendance at a Viewmont vs. Woods Cross game will not be much higher than a Judge Memorial vs. Woods Cross game. Rivalries have gone the way of the Yugo. And the fairness issue, they say, wont crop up until the state tournament. Yes, Bountiful with 1,500 students could still effectively compete against Layton High with 2,300 students. But it would be much more difficult at tournament time competing against schools with nearly 3,000 students or against schools like Skyline which can secure top athletes from neigh- borhoods in 1,325 different zip codes. Have 1 changed my mind? Probably not. But if Im still sticking to my guns, Im also not as loaded with ammunition. If the sports fans cherish tournament trophies, the coaches sentiment is probably accurate. Bountiful and Woods Cross High will win more games and more tournaments if they play Box Elder and Cyprus instead of playing Skyline and Orem. If its play Brighton? Darn it. Hoosiers is a lot more uplifting. m Your Opinion then said, Now that Im here, the door and stop the growth!" has been the sentiments for years from people moving into Kaysville. Kaysville growth inevitable, you can like it or move Editor: I found the April 2, 1997 letter from Sherri Einfeld interesting. too, ask the question, Published semi weekly by movie d Hoosiers, a small rural Indiana high school basketball team ventures to the big city as a prohibitive underdog and earns a sweaty, breathtaking victory over a stunned larger high school. The saga on the Midwest hard rivalries are dead cross-tow- n I, Whats wrong with this picture? But I ask from another angle. I suggest that Ms. Einfeld back up a few steps in the development process. Perhaps the tar and feathering should begin with all the farmers who have sold out their prime farmland to developers. They knew exactly what was going to happen to that land. Shouldnt they be scolded for no longer growing food instead of providing a place for shelter for so many people? There must be a reason why they have sold out all that prime farmland. When you consider the size of lots east of the 20,000 square foot lots in west Kaysville provide a lot of open space. There is a lot of room on these lots for growing gardens and fruit trees to provide food for a family. Even in the subdivisions there are some lots large enough for those who want to have farm animals. Did Ms. Einfeld forget to mention that just a few years ago her own father developed a subdivision in West Kaysville? I wonder how vehemently she tried to stop him from his property to telling him it is not user friendly. And did she mention she is currently adding to the concrete and homes in west Kaysville by building a large, beautiful home in another subdivision that is zoned Whats wrong with this picture? Ms. Einfeld also mentioned the number of homes in 1990. When I was a child, there were far less than 208 homes in west Kaysville. But over the years until 1990 it increased by many people who moved here from other cities and shut That 20 west I believe Mayor Johnson has done an outstanding job of representing all the people of Kaysville. He has been fair and just in his dealings. I do not envy his position, but admire the way he has fulfilled it. wish the growth in Kaysville would halt, but I dont I, too, see it happening that way. believe this tremendous growth and diminishing farmland is one reason we have been counseled to grow gardens and learn to become as self sufficient as possible. I also believe that if the people in west Kaysville, like Ms. Einfeld, are unhappy about what is happening out there, they have two options: either buy up the farmlands or move out of Kaysville. I see no other way out. 1 Gene Marshall Florida prisoner looking for uncle who lived in area Editor, I'm writing to you in my time of need in hope you can find it in your heart to help me if you can. I was bom in Bountiful and lived there until I was seven. Mom and Dad died in a car accident when I was 14 and I was in and out of foster homes until I was 18. Im incarcerated now and have never felt this kind of loneliness before. I dont have anyone to write or come to see me. Im not a bad person just because Im in here. Everyone makes mistakes and I have made one but Im letting my past teach me so I can be a better person in the days to come. Im only in here for 24 months and then Im free to go after a dream. I want to come there to be a teacher of music like Mom was. I have an uncle. Bill P. Johnson, who lives in or around Bountiful that Im trying to find. He is the only family I have and Im hoping if you can run my letter in your paper he can see it and write to me. I need someone I can trust with my feelings and thoughts. I would appreciate anyone who wrote to me. Editor, this is a lonely time of year for me with Mothers Day coming up. Mom was a very nice lady who died when I needed her most. I do want to take this time to wish all the mothers the two greatest gifts of all an they are, to have someone to love and have someone love you for the person you are. Jerry A. Johnson 295254 CSP 4600 Fulton Mill Rd. Macon, GA 31213 Believe statements including the following gem: We believe in an atmosphere of kindness, cooperation, compromise, and sensitivity to the dreams of all ... I doubt I was the only reader experiencing a wave of nausea at this point. Though few citizens agree ( or should agree) with every decision made by local elected officials, surely we owe at least a degree of civility to those who willingly sacrifice so much time and effort in public service. Centervilles mayor and council members are leading our city through a difficult transition period of challenges accompanying rapid population growth. Instead of backing away from controversial issues, they have tackled them with energy and courage at the expense of becoming targets of special interest mudslinging. They deserve better. Mel Miles Centerville Criticism of Centerville officials unfair r Editor: Centerville residents recently received a particularly unwelcome a flier entitled piece of junk mail Contrasting Point of View: A Rebuttal to The State of the City Newsletter. The article essentially accuses Centerville City officials of virtually every conceivable wrong except spreading bubonic plague (presumably, that charge is being saved for the next issue). Not surprisingly, no author takes credit Unfortunately, the flier goes far beyond merely criticizing city government decisions by also claiming the Administration intimidates, suppresses information, makes uninformed decisions, misleads the public and uses unethical tactics." After further vilifying city leaderd diatribe, the artiship in a cle concludes with a series of We one-side- :iLetters to the Editor Guide The ClipperKaysville Today welcomes letters from our readers. Please submit letters conforming to the following guidelines: 1. Maximum length should be 300 words (approx. 1 12 typewritten pages). 2. No letter will be printed that may be considered offensive to our readers. 3. All letters should include the author's name, address and a daytime phone number. No unsigned letters will be printed. 4. All letters are subject to editing for content or length. dbl.-spac- |
