Oklahoma continues to experience high rates of suicide, a tragic reflection of its severe problems of mental illness, addiction, poverty and other social ills.
End of Hope: One Offender’s Path to the Penitentiary
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David Hammock was one of nine men who took their own lives in the Oklahoma State Penitentiary between 2012 and 2015. Convicted of arson at age 18 for burning down the old Sallisaw High School, he failed at chances to gain early release, and then, in the end, lost hope.
A Mobile-Video Answer to a Mental Health Crisis
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Law enforcement agencies are bearing much of the brunt of dealing with mentally ill people in crisis. But a unique new program is trying to take some of that burden away from police and prevent the mentally ill from unnecessarily ending up in jail.
Detaining the Mentally Ill
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When encountering the mentally ill, police officers and others can take various actions even if the person doesn’t consent.
When Police Confront the Mentally Ill
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When the mentally ill are in crisis, the first and only responders are usually police officers. That can heighten the risk of a violent confrontation, which is what occurred in the case of Eric Tompkins of Ardmore last year. Some communities are trying a different approach to allow mental-health experts to intercede, in collaboration with police.
In Jails, Lack of Training Heightens Dangers
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Many jailers in Oklahoma have little training in how to deal effectively with the mentally ill. That can lead to bad decisions that endanger lives, mental-health and law-enforcement experts say.
Valliant Man’s Death Evokes Questions That Confront Jailers Statewide
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Flanked by jailers, 40-year-old Corey Carter was led into the McCurtain County Jail’s shower room on Feb. 12 last year to change from his street clothes into a jail uniform.
Jail Video: The Death of Corey Carter
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Watch the McCurtain County Jail video in which Corey Carter is booked into the jail, refuses to don jail clothes and is eventually led into a room where a struggle leads to his death.
Violent Incidents Raise Questions About Training of Officers to Deal with Mentally Ill
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A spike in fatalities in Oklahoma jails this year and several confrontations between police and the mentally ill have raised questions about whether officers and jailers are sufficiently trained to deal with people with mental health problems.
The Man with the Kitchen Knife
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Gary Clark, schizophrenic for years, stood on his front porch one day, holding a kitchen knife and experiencing a mental-health crisis. Officers would end up shooting him with pepper balls, shocking him with a Taser and firing three bullets into him.
Where Addiction Holds a Grip But Treatment Lags
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In rural Oklahoma, the tug of war between drug addiction and the wait time for treatment can be a one-sided competition: The power of addiction often wins.