Michigan Governor Says Prison Mental Health Patients Need Better Care
Timothy Souders, a mentally ill inmate at Jackson prison, died of dehydration last August after being chained to a steel bed for almost four days. After Souders's death, a judge ruled that Michigan needs far-reaching mental health reform. In response, Gov. Jennifer Granholm reluctantly created a commission to investigate the state's prison system at the end of 2006 and made general mention of prison reform in her State of the State address last week. However, few reforms have materialized, and the state's prison system is still wedded to a deplorable ideology that neglects mentally ill inmates and focuses on punishment rather than rehabilitation. ANONYMOUS EDITORIAL The Michigan Daily