American Bar Association
1998 Silver Gavel Award Winners: Newspapers

1998 WINNERS | NEWSPAPERS | BOOKS | TELEVISION | RADIO | FILMS & VIDEOS | NEW MEDIA

Sick Justice The Times of Northwest Indiana Indianapolis, Indiana Kevin Corcoran, Statehouse Bureau Chief Zbigniew Bzdak, Photographer

More than a year in the making, "Sick Justice" showed that Indiana's "guilty but mentally ill" verdict, contrary to what jurors were led to believe, did not guarantee that those convicted would receive any form of prison psychiatric care. The eight-part series ran from September 14-21, 1997, but it had its genesis eighteen months earlier. The Times received an anonymous tip from a state employee on horrific conditions in the state prison system's psychiatric ward, known among inmates as the "Animal Kingdom." As state mental hospitals close, all too many mentally ill individuals are simply warehoused in prison. Prisoners with such illnesses as schizophrenia, major depression, and bipolar disorder are mistreated or untreated, and all too often released to strike again. Statehouse bureau chief Kevin Corcoran conducted dozens of interviews with inmates, defense attorneys, prosecutors, former jurors, judges, the chief justice of the Indiana Supreme Court, legislators, mental health experts, activists, and many others. In addition, he exhaustively researched thousands of pages of documents describing mental health histories, prison conditions, health care and court proceedings. Photographer Zbigniew Bzdak, given unprecedented access to the Indiana prisons, produced haunting and dramatic photographs of inmates. In addition to case studies, "Sick Justice" included background pieces carefully explaining legal, political and medical aspects of the problem. The series spurred significant reforms. The state department of correction has asked its private mental health contractor to establish a continuum of care throughout the system. The DOC has also made plans for a 128-bed psychiatric hospital within the prison system.

Availability: Follow this link to read the complete "Sick Justice" series online.

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COMMITTEE COMMENTARY

The Times of Northwest Indiana's exceptional series on "Sick Justice" explored, through moving case histories, the impact and consequences of the state's "guilty but mentally ill" law. Written by Kevin Corcoran, it intelligently presented difficult information in a balanced, straightforward, exceptionally well-organized, and comprehensive way. This superb special report created an informed and aroused public and even generated widespread attention outside the state of Indiana. One of more than 120 entries in the newspaper category, it is most deserving to be singled out for the Silver Gavel Award.

E X C E R P T S   F R O M   S I C K  J U S T I C E

INSANITY: A Defense in Disfavor
Indiana's guilty but mentally ill verdict is a relatively recent way of dealing with the vexing issues surrounding the insanity defense, which began evolving several hundred years ago from English jurisprudence. The defense arose from a belief that before accused criminals can be convicted and imprisoned, they must be found competent and morally responsible. Critics say the verdict of guilty but mentally ill obliterates this legal principle by subjecting criminal defendants to prison who might otherwise be acquitted.

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A PLEA FOR HELP
CARLISLE, Ind.-Wayne Morris' journey through the prison system began three and a half years ago with a bewildering twist in state law.

Then 15, the Lake Station boy pleaded guilty but mentally ill to crimes committed during his brief flight from a state mental institution.

As Morris has learned, such a plea merely acknowledges the presence of a mental disorder at the time of a crime. It does not confer any legal right to meaningful health care within the Indiana Department of Correction.

Although many defendants and jurors assume there is a difference between Morris' court plea and the more straightforward plea of guilty, there is not.

Such beliefs are fueled by the verdict's existence, its wording, and false claims that it targets defendants for treatment.

It was never designed to do so: Instead of ushering an enlightened approach to prison mental health, the Indiana General Assembly created the verdict to make it easier to imprison sick criminals.

To avoid angering taxpayers, lawmakers set aside no additional money. Any promise of treatment was forgotten.

The law instead diverts inmates like Morris into a system that doesn't adequately treat them and sometimes churns dangerously ill criminals out to strike again.

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