On the early afternoon of 17 March 2014, my brother, John, hung himself in my garage, with a nylon tie-down strap. Mom found him too late.
Since his late teens, he suffered from mental illness. He should have received affordable, professional mental health care, NOT criminalized. He didn't have to die a totally preventable death.
For a time, Mom and Dad committed him to private care. The bill came to $45,000 for three months. In the last year of his life, he kept himself in solitary confinement, as if he was still in prison.
Please no sympathies. And, I don't do closures.
John's life and death is all too common in Oklahoma. The private prisons are Oklahoma's de facto torture chambers for the mentally ill. The State has no real way to care for them.
Today, tomorrow, the next day, next day after that, and so on, another senselessly stupid suicide will continue, unless YOU call, email, or personally speak with your State Representative or Senator.
You NEED to tell them no matter how much money they get from the private prison lobby, you still have the power of the vote.
Every contact counts against the all too powerful, all too vast private prison industry, which enriches the select few, at the expense of millions, on the backs of continuing supply of inmates, who are regularly tortured by solitary confinement, in violation of international law.
If you are in pain, and have suicidal thoughts, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE talk to someone, ANYONE. Talk to me.
There will ALWAYS be a better tomorrow, GUARANTEED. Please spare your family and friends of needless pain. You deserve affordable, competent professional help, NOT jail time or death sentence.
To continue John's legacy, Big Bad John's Road Trip to Stop Senselessly Stupid Suicides will roll Tulsa streets in a solar/human hybrid vehicle. Believe in Oklahoma values of caring, comfort, and compassion for those who can least able to care for themselves.
Since his late teens, he suffered from mental illness. He should have received affordable, professional mental health care, NOT criminalized. He didn't have to die a totally preventable death.
For a time, Mom and Dad committed him to private care. The bill came to $45,000 for three months. In the last year of his life, he kept himself in solitary confinement, as if he was still in prison.
Please no sympathies. And, I don't do closures.
John's life and death is all too common in Oklahoma. The private prisons are Oklahoma's de facto torture chambers for the mentally ill. The State has no real way to care for them.
Today, tomorrow, the next day, next day after that, and so on, another senselessly stupid suicide will continue, unless YOU call, email, or personally speak with your State Representative or Senator.
You NEED to tell them no matter how much money they get from the private prison lobby, you still have the power of the vote.
Every contact counts against the all too powerful, all too vast private prison industry, which enriches the select few, at the expense of millions, on the backs of continuing supply of inmates, who are regularly tortured by solitary confinement, in violation of international law.
If you are in pain, and have suicidal thoughts, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE talk to someone, ANYONE. Talk to me.
There will ALWAYS be a better tomorrow, GUARANTEED. Please spare your family and friends of needless pain. You deserve affordable, competent professional help, NOT jail time or death sentence.
To continue John's legacy, Big Bad John's Road Trip to Stop Senselessly Stupid Suicides will roll Tulsa streets in a solar/human hybrid vehicle. Believe in Oklahoma values of caring, comfort, and compassion for those who can least able to care for themselves.
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