[Deathpenalty] (death penalty-related) request from Tom Davis, reporter of The Bergen (N.J.) Record

[Rick Halperin]

Friends--

please contact Tom directly if you can be of any help.....


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---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 29 Mar 2005 11:32:46 -0500
From: "Davis, Thomas" <DavisT at northjersey.com>
To:  Rick Halperin
Subject: from Tom Davis of The Bergen Record


 Hi Rick.


 Basically, I was chosen for a Rosalynn Carter Mental Health Journalism
 Fellowship, led by the former first lady. I was given a $10,000 stipend to
 do a project related to mental illness. My project is on the treatment of
 people with mental illness who have been incarcerated, or could be
 incarcerated. This could be anybody from alleged petty thieves to
 murderers to political prisoners.

 I've traveled the country to investigate programs in places like, believe
 it or not, Alaska, where some people with a pioneering spirit have come up
 with alternatives for people with mental illness other than jail.

 But I've also traveled the country to look at the ugliness of mental
 illness and crime, including Texas. I was moved by Lois Robisons' story
 about her son. I'd like to compare what other countries, particularly
 those that don't have a death penalty, would deal with a similar
 situation to Lois'.

 I'd like to see what they offer as alternatives, and, of course, how they
 compare to here (and also how other countries view the way the mentally
 ill are handled here). I was curious to know if you or somebody could
 point me to particular countries that could address these questions.

 I was also wondering if you've looked at countries such as the Sierra
 Leone or Bosnia where the treatment of prisoners in general is a
 travesty (I hear that the treatment of the jailed mentally ill in
 Australia is deplorable).

 Thanks for your help Rick. Looking forward to hearing from you.