Pete Earley

11-17-14  WARNING: This story should make you angry!

Washington Post editorial writer, Ruth Marcus, has taken-up the cause of a 22 year-old Virginia man who has autism and has been kept in solitary confinement most of the last year under conditions that are worsening his mental and physical health.

Unfortunately, Reginald “Neli” Latson’s plight is not an isolated happening, given that our jails and prisons have become our nation’s new asylums for individuals with serious mental illnesses and, all too often, those with intellectual disabilities.

Latson’s case is especially egregious.

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My father, Elmer Earley, was in church on December 7, 1941 when Pearl Harbor was attacked, and he and his buddies in his church’s men’s group immediately decided they would enlist. My dad had just turned 21. He tried the Air Force but it wouldn’t take him because he had chronic asthma. The Navy turned him down next. But by that point,  he knew what answers the military doctors wanted to hear so he bypassed the local recruiting stations and drove to Philadelphia where there were no records of his earlier attempts. The Coast Guard took him.

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11-7-14 The letter that Anne Francisco wrote to me this week about her son’s suicide has become the second most read blog that I’ve posted, being read by 43,000 on my Facebook page alone and nearly that number on my author’s webpage.

Her letter about Josh’s preventable death is a poignant reminder of how the telling of our personal stories can touch the lives of others.  This week, The Washington Post, published another dramatic example of this that I want to share with you.

A FATHER’S SCARS: FOR VA.’S CREIGH DEEDS, TRAGEDY BRINGS UNENDING QUESTIONS

By Stephanie McCrummen

The Washington Post: 11-1-2014

HE WAKES UP, and even before he opens his eyes, he can see his beautiful, delusional son.

Gus, Creigh Deeds thinks.

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Dear Pete,

My 39-year old son killed himself today.

Josh hung himself in a solitary confinement cell in a prison south of St. Louis, Missouri.   He died alone, afraid, and powerless. Josh needed help. Instead, he got punishment.

Like all mothers, I had dreams for my children — dreams that didn’t include mental illness or prison. My husband and I knew very little about mental illness until four years ago when we received a long distance phone call from our daughter-in-law telling us that Josh’s behavior had changed and she needed our help to convince him that he should enter a hospital for psychiatric treatment. She explained that Josh was sleeping very little and was having racing thoughts. He’d become hyper-vigilant about national/government affairs and hyper-religious, praying in strange tongues. Josh was 35 years old at the time — a handsome and energetic young man who adored his wife and two children. Always ready to lend a helping hand, Josh would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it. He had a special place in his heart for people who were hurting.

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UPDATE TO EARLIER POST

My friends, Janine Francolini, founder of the Flawless Foundation, and Liza Long, the nationally known blogger who wrote I am Adam Lanza’s mother, have both joined the call for Disney/ABC to apologize for its tasteless Modern Family Halloween episode. The momentum continues. Thank you both!

Please read Janine’s blog on the Huffington Post entitled Not Such A Modern Family and Liza Long’s blog, entitled: Dear Claire Dunphy.

 

 

 

First Posted early morning 11-3-2014

My letter of complaint about last week’s tasteless Modern Family episode has now been read by more than 70,000 on my Facebook and webpage, and has been shared more than 200 times! A good number of readers have registered their disgust at the ABC website  about how the show’s writers ridiculed individuals with mental disorders. It appears this grassroots campaign has taken on a life of its own.

Stay tuned and thank you!

More than 25,400 of you read my blog on Facebook about last week’s tasteless Modern Family Halloween episode that ridiculed individuals with mental illnesses. Another 22,300 read it on my website, for a total of nearly 50,000. About 200 of you shared the post and a handful of other bloggers commented about the inappropriateness of the show. I especially appreciated the willingness of long-time advocate Harvey Rosenthal, blogger Chrisa Hickey, Flawless Foundation Head Janine Francolini, and Dr. Lloyd Sederer to share the blog.

Sadly, efforts to get the Huffington Post to chastise the media giant failed and it’s unfortunate that none of the large, mainline mental health and anti-stigma organizations chose to use the show as a teachable moment. But I have been told that Disney/ABC executives were made aware of our frustration and irritation.

A long journey begins with small steps. Thank you for speaking out!