Mental health gaps seen in jail death

WHILE struggling with mental health issues, Krysten Gonzalez wound up in trouble with the law and, eventually, in the Oklahoma County jail, where she died the afternoon of Jan. 8. Authorities say Gonzalez, 29, hanged herself.

The case has raised questions about the jail’s operations — the county’s chief public defender, Bob Ravitz, wonders why Gonzalez wasn’t held in the mental health ward instead of being housed among the general population; jail officials say the woman had given no indication of being a suicide risk. But it also highlights Oklahoma’s need for more mental health treatment facilities.

As The Oklahoman’s Silas Allen has chronicled, Gonzalez was arrested in June 2017 after an officer responding to a shoplifting call discovered methamphetamine in the woman’s purse.

In court papers, Gonzalez, a U.S. Army veteran, said she had been treated for post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety. Her case was transferred in November 2017 to the county’s mental health court, and Gonzalez agreed to make regular appearances there.

Mental health courts are found in 16 of Oklahoma’s counties, and they help to keep offenders from going to prison while saving the state money — it costs about $19,000 per year to incarcerate someone ($23,000 if the person has a severe mental illness), but just $5,400 for mental health court. These courts have proven highly effective.

Like all participants, Gonzalez agreed to make regular appearances in mental health court. She faced a 10-year prison sentence if she didn’t meet the terms of the agreement. After she failed to appear in court, she was arrested in October 2018.

Ravitz’s office looked for an inpatient mental health facility where Gonzalez could get treatment rather than go to prison, but was unsuccessful. In Oklahoma, there is far more demand for services than there are providers.

Our state has one of the nation’s highest rates of adults with serious mental illnesses, but for many years it has spent among the least per capita on mental health. The state Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services says an estimated six out of 10 adult Oklahomans don’t get the mental health and substance abuse treatment they need. Among youth, the figure is roughly four out of 10.

DMHSAS budget constraints have exacerbated this problem. Although the agency did receive a 4.9 percent budget increase for this fiscal year, there is considerable ground to be made up.

With no options available, Krysten Gonzalez wound up spending nearly three months in the county jail before dying by suicide. Her death was notable because it happened in the Oklahoma County jail, where for many years other deaths have raised concerns about the jail. Yet there are untold numbers of Oklahomans who will struggle and perhaps die by suicide this year for the same reasons as Gonzalez — they will face mental health challenges and have few, if any, treatment options.

It’s an area that demands policymakers’ continued attention.