When the Mentally Ill Are Placed in Prisons, One Father's Story About His Son

"Prisons have become surrogate mental hospitals."It is estimated that mental illness in prison may run as high as 30 to 40%. Correctional Officers are not trained in this area and feel that this is not their problem, but rather the States failure to deal with it properly. They didn't sign on to be Mental health workers nor counselors. They feel their job is to guard the "bad guys" and treat them as such. The mentally ill are seen as an extra burden and few guards have the temperament to tolerate the often uncooperative behavior.

As a result many inmates are "disciplined" by locking them in isolation cells for extended periods of time and are brutalized by other inmates or by the guards themselves. My son has suffered this fate and it has caused him to decompensate, perhaps permanently. Who knows, Only time will tell."

Can you give us a bio about yourself and your son?

Name: Larry Phipps Age: 66. Occupation: Land Surveyor (Retired) Married, with 5 grown children (4 sons and 1 daughter) and 3 Grandchildren. (2 girls and 1 boy) Education: High school grad with 5 years college. (Full and part time) Military veteran. Raised in the Midwest with 3 brothers. No mental illness in family history.

Came to California after military service in 1961 to attend college. Met future wife and married in 1963. Lived in S.F. Bay area for 11 years before moving to Oregon in 1972. Returned to live in N. California in 1984 as the job market bottomed out in Oregon and job offers presented themselves in N. Ca. Have lived here ever since. No mental problems in other family members. However, there are numerous symptoms of mental problems in my wife's relatives including brothers and sisters.

Of my other children, two are college graduates, one working on his Doctorate in Linguistics. Another is a printer and plans to start his own business. My Daughter is a school teacher. We have lived in the same house for the last 23 years and are active in local affairs. We started a local NAMI (National Alliance for the Mentally Ill) affiliate in 1994 when my son began to exhibit signs of mental illness and we found it extremely difficult to access needed services. We continue to advocate for these services to this day. I have shifted my focus to advocate for prison reform after my son was sent to prison and I discovered what a terrible place these prisons are for the mentally ill. I have joined with others in this regard. (California groups such as: U. N. I. O. N. , T. I. P. S. , F. A. C. T. S., etc.) Our goal is to bring attention to these huge problems in the prisons and through letter writing, demonstrating and lobbying in Sacramento, Ca. we hope to bring about positive change.

Name: Colleen Phipps. (Wife and Mother) Age: 64. Occupation: Semiretired food service manager at Cal. State Univ. Currently, part time teacher at local elementary school. College: San Jose State. Raised in the upper Midwest and moved to Ca. with family at age 16. After marriage, settled in as a homemaker until we moved to Oregon. Went to work in the food service at the local college and rose to assistant manager. Received a job offer from the Univ. of Cal. In N. Ca. in 1984 and so we came here to live. We have been here since that time. I have 2 brothers and 4 sisters, all in N. Cal.

Son: Dan. Age: 38. High school grad with some college. Of all our children, Dan seemed to be the most well adjusted and popular. Showed a talent for music and art. Played guitar and won notices for his drawings. Academically in the normal range but expressed interest in philosophy and religion. Wanted to be in a Rock band. During the latter 2 years of High school experimented with drugs like marijuana and LSD. Later became a frequent user of Meth-amphetamine. It is "Meth" that we feel sent him "over the edge" and into psychosis and delusions. However, he didn't present these symptoms until several years after graduating from H. S.

He got married and was a very good husband. He obtained a better job and rose to manager of the shop. Well liked by his boss and coworkers. He and his wife bought a house and spent many months fixing it up, putting in new grass, painting, adding a wash room, building a deck and new furnishings. On the surface they seemed to an ideal couple.

So what happened is anybody's guess. The pressures of the job and the incessant demands of his sometimes unstable wife drove him to return to "Meth" for energy. To provide for his wife's continued nagging for more and more money he began working overtime including weekends. By and by, it took its toll on him and he began to become paranoid and thought he was being followed etc. This became worse and soon his wife left him as she was somewhat paranoid herself. After that, like domino's, his life fell apart. He lost his job, then his house, turned to more drugs and alcohol for solace. Of course, this only exacerbated his condition and he slipped further and further into delusionary behavior. He came to live with us as we had a cottage on our property that was empty. It wasn't long before we realized things were out of control yet there was little we could do about it. He refuse to listen to our concerns and continued with his destructive behavior. Soon he turned on us claiming that we were interfering in his life and that we should back-off and leave him alone. This, of course, was impossible as he lived only about 30 feet away and was becoming ever more psychotic. Ranting and raving and threatening us and his brothers drew neighborhood attention. Many times the police were called.

At first they tried the usual. Taking him to mental health. Doing a "5150" hold. Only to have mental health release him out the door. (Routine stuff we found out later) Soon he became hostile to the police and they began arresting him for various things. Resisting arrest, possession of drugs, trespassing, etc.
He was in and out of jail for a year or so then he was charged with "Assault on a police officer" when in a defensive mode he threw a small object into the air and it came down and hit a policeman. He spent almost a year in jail before we convinced a sympathetic Judge to release him to a residential rehab for treatment. He spent almost two years in the rehab however they only dealt with drug and alcohol abuse and not with other mental health problems. He agreed to take meds while there and did very well although he did complain of side effects. To avoid more jail time he continued on meds while completing six years of probation. At that time the Judge agreed to "Expunge" the charges and Dan embarked on a mission to reclaim his life. Drug and alcohol free for 6 years, he returned to school and obtained a cooking certificate and landed a job at a large retirement home.

All this time was, except for taking meds, with little or no treatment for his mental illness. This is what he sorely needed but was unavailable in this county. Still is. After about 6 months of doing very well the retirement home decided to cut back on personnel and took him away from cooking and placed him in the back of the kitchen cleaning and washing dishes. They told him it was not their idea as he was their best cook. It came from management and they're was nothing they could do about it. This was a crushing blow to Dan.

He slipped into depression and lost interest in work after that. Slowly he became despondent and soon did not even go to work anymore. He began drinking again and all the previous symptoms reappeared. We suspect he stopped taking his meds about this time too. As before, we became "the enemy" and again the police were called. This time they left abruptly after getting a call to respond to a fight across town.

The next morning Dan took my pickup truck (without permission) and drove to a store to by cigarettes. Enroute something happened to scare him and while speeding home (very uncharacteristic) he attempted to drive through a traffic light before it turned red and didn't make it. He slammed broadside into a car, killing the driver.

Dan suffered a head injury and left the scene to walk to a hospital two blocks away. They charged him with "Leaving the scene" for that. (A felony) Along with causing the accident (also a felony) and a prior felony for assault on a police officer (Even though it was expunged he was still charged with having a prior felony) he now had #3 strikes. In California, "3 strikes and your out" is the law. Life in prison is the sentence and that's what he got. Mental Illness is not recognized in Ca. courts unless the offender is a "basket case" and is labeled as such by at least two court appointed doctors. If one is the least bit functional, you go to trial.

With such a serious lack of mental health services many find themselves in the criminal justice system and even to prison where services are in very short supply.

What Mental illnesses has your son Dan been diagnosed with?

While one Doctor would say Paranoid schizophrenic, another would say Paranoid delusional. Still others thought Bipolar, schizo-affective or Personality disorder. While all agreed that he indeed had a disorder, they were uncertain as to it's label. Perhaps an overlap here and there. What ever it is were quite certain that it's not just the drugs he has used. While they may have had a role in it, something else is amiss and needs to be addressed and treated.

Has he ever been institutionalized?

Yes, Several times in our local Psychiatric hospital, and once at a facility in Roseville Ca. All very short stays. One day to one week at a time. They simply stabilized him somewhat then released him. Routine procedure in many hospitals here in Ca.

Is he on any medications?

He is at present, although because of the confidentiality laws, we cannot find out what meds he is taking. However, for the first two years in prison he was not. At sentencing, the Judge recommended that the Dept. of Corrections place him in a psychiatric unit but they did not do this. They placed him in the "Mainline Population" and this caused severe problems for him as he was beaten up several times and God only knows what else. He spent over one year in what they call "Ad-Seg".(Administrative Segregation) Commonly known as "The hole." They claim they did it for his protection. Who knows...Prison officials are not very receptive to family members and they lie whenever they are questioned. Most often than not they simply ignore inquiries from family members. Contacting the people that are supposed to oversee the prison operations and correct any violations are as bad as the prison officials.

About a year ago he was placed in an EOP (Extended Outpatient Program) section of the prison and is doing much better. It's still prison but he doesn't have to deal with the more hard-core types on "Mainline."

We think that the reason he was finally placed in EOP was due to the Federal governments intervention last year when they placed the entire Ca. Dept. of Corrections (CDC) Health care service in receivership and appointed a man named Robert Sillen to take it over and bring it up to U.S. Constitutional standards. This has been a godsend to us and others that have family members in prison. In June 07 the Federal Judge, Thelton Henderson, will rule on whether to place the entire California prison system in Federal receivership. It's that bad. Many of us are hoping he will do just that. Something needs to be done about the deplorable conditions that are prevalent throughout the CDC. As you may know, They have over 175,000 inmates crammed into a space designed for less than 100,000. Couple that with a 35% shortage of Correctional Officers and a 40% shortage of health care personnel and you have a time bomb on your hands. Fights, riots, sickness and deaths are a daily occurrence.

Do you feel he is receiving Is he receiving proper medical care for his illness?

Meds, we think so as he is not as hostile and delusional as before. Meds are probably a requirement in the EOP. Although we do not know what treatment he is getting. He is getting something which is a step in the right direction. Because of the dire shortage of personnel at the prisons the level of care is most likely quite minimal.

Has your son ever been abused by guards, and how?

We are not sure. We know he has been abused but there is no way to get the truth about who did the abusing. Our son will not tell us about anything that happens in there for two reasons. One, he would be considered a "Snitch" and marked for retribution which could be fatal. Two, the guards could make his life a living hell if he were to tell anyone about it. Especially if it were the guards doing the abusing. This I know to factual and common knowledge: They have your life in their hands and you had better watch your step, OR ELSE....

Do you agree that our prisons have replaced mental institutions?

Absolutely! No doubt. Everyone in the mental health community knows this and likewise the Governor and the Legislators. Yet, it continues. Why? Because it is not a popular issue and politicians base their priorities on issues that will get them elected. And they have the power and the purse strings to make changes if they wish. It's only when something totally outrageous happens that gets the publics attention that they even address this issue. Like the "3 strikes law" and "Jessica's law" etc. they will enact knee-jerk laws that fail to address the real problems but make it seem like they are doing something about it. It takes a crisis to get their attention and an ongoing crisis to keep it.

California prisons are now in crisis and the Feds are breathing down their neck and they are desperately searching for a solution. Because they have ignored the warnings for so long they are now forced to act or lose control over the State prison system. Under these kinds of conditions, mistakes are likely to occur. Desperate measures will be taken and it will cost us taxpayers dearly, and they will fail. Mostly because they don't listen to the experts and those of wisdom and sensibilities. They pay more attention to their campaign managers and the next election. Until that changes, little else will likely happen.

What other problems has your son had in prison?

Getting things through the mail. Some things we order for him (according to the rules) are lost or stolen. Being on lockdown quite often for minor disturbances even though they occurred in another part of the prison. Intestinal upsets, primary because of the lousy quality of the food.

At one point a Psychologist at the prison offered to help our son file a "Writ of Habeas Corpus." We sent her the pertinent information, she had him sign it and he was to mail it to the proper Court. Nothing illegal here. However the prison guards got wind of her assistance and she was subsequently moved to another section and her job was threatened. Even though my son says he gave the "Writ" to the guard to be mailed (By law, they have to mail all legal papers) there is no record of any Court in the state of California having received it. What has happened to that "Writ"? We don't know and there is no way to find out. That "Writ" was his last chance to be heard in court and possibly get another trial. Now what do we do??? The prison holds all the cards and they couldn't care less about the inmates or their families. We cannot afford to hire another Attorney.

Do you visit him often, and if so, what is it like?

For the first two years we could not visit because our son either refused to or for other reasons could not fill out a visitors application form. After being transferred to EOP he finally managed to fill it out and get it approved. He will not discuss what happened to him during the previous two years which makes us quite suspicious. I've learned to hate the CDC for it callous and barbaric approach to treatment of inmates and their families. It's downright criminal what goes on in there and it seems they are autonomous when it comes to holding them accountable for their actions. They just don't care.

We have managed to visit twice in the last six months and were quite shaken by his condition. He seemed disoriented and preoccupied with voices in his head. His movements were furtive and out of context with what we were doing at the time. He would wave his arms in the air as if to be expressing something to no one in particular and at other times he would grab his head as though he were in pain or about to lose control. His attention span lasted only seconds at a time and sometimes he would answer a question that was asked minutes before while ignoring the present conversation.

We were shocked that our so-called civilized society allows this type of cruelty to exist. I'm ashamed to be part of this hypocrisy.

What do you feel would be some solutions to the problem of the mentally ill in prison?

First, Get them out of the prison. Re-open the closed mental institutions. Hospitals and treatment facilities are what's needed. Nurses, Doctors, counselors and programs that are designed to heal rather than inflict punishment on sick people. You cannot punish the sickness out of a person. That will only make them worse. Most of the mentally ill would not be in prison if it were not for their untreated mental illness. Preventative programs would save millions of dollars by keeping people out of prison and leading productive lives instead of languishing in a cement box sealed off from the world by an iron door. What evil minds concoct these torture chambers?

Treatment in a safe and humane setting would go far in restoring many to a life of normalcy. Instead, we drive them further and further insane because of our fear and ignorance and apathy. We spend billions on killing and punishing people but pennies on the care and education of our people. And we are supposed to be proud to be an American. Yeah right!

Would you like to see these inmates relocated to an institution more equipped and staffed for mental illness?

By all means, yes. Our lust for revenge and retribution would have to be curtailed though. There seems to be a prevailing desire to punish those who break the law regardless of the cause. Perhaps there is a latent sadistic streak within us that demands it's pound of flesh. Whatever it is, it must take a back-seat to intelligent thought and rational and reasonable solutions to this horrendous problem. The information is available to all whom desire it and solutions have presented themselves. It's up to the more civil and sanest among us to demand that we as a society do the right thing and soon...

At this time if there is anything you would like to add please do so, and add any contact information or links.

I believe I've touched on most of the points that should be mentioned. There is always more to the story of course, but perhaps at a later date.

"The situation is critical and lives are at stake. Now is not the time for reflection, it is a time to act. Time is short. California prisons are powder kegs primed for disaster. Some say the fuse has already been lit and what we do in the next few weeks will determine whether they blow or not.
Dousing that fuse has got to be THE priority. At least for now..."

For more information, Larry can be reached at the following contact information:

Larry Phipps
333 W. 12th Ave.
Chico, Ca. 95926
(530) 894-8551
cmphipps@csuchico.edu or
larry2897@sbcglobal.net