A Mentally Ill Patient in a California County Jail is Allegedly Exposed to Shocking, Horrific Treatment before Dying
In news out of California this week, many have been shocked and appalled to learn about what allegedly happened to Andrew Holland in San Luis Obispo County Jail in January 2017. Holland was allegedly shackled by his arms and legs for 46 hours, naked with the exception of a mask and helmet over his face and a blanket that was on his lap but slipped off. Holland was in a cell with a glass front and was exposed to jail staff passing by during the entire episode. He got little to nothing to eat or drink and had to sit in his own filth. Allegedly, guards dumped Holland on the floor of a cell after finally unbinding him. He allegedly died within a 40-minute period because he stopped breathing. The county settled with the family for a record $5 million.
A great deal of social outrage has been directed at Central Coast County in California for the January 22, 2017, death of Holland. Holland suffered from schizophrenia. The issue of mental health problems among people who are admitted in county jails across the country is one that more and more counties are addressing. In Texas, the tragic death of Sandra Bland in Waller County Jail has resulted in laws referred to as the Sandra Bland Act. The primary focus of the new legislation is about mental health, but family members of Bland and thousands of activists claim that it is more an issue of racial profiling against African Americans.
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