WASHINGTON, Jan. 30 (UPI) -- Georgia state mental hospitals are dangerous for patients and a monitor needs to named to protect them, federal officials said.
The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday filed a court motion asking a judge to appoint a monitor to set "binding targets and timetables" to eliminate what officials called dangerous conditions in Georgia mental hospitals and to remedy a situation in which "hundreds of individuals who could and should be served in the community" remain hospitalized.
"States responsible for the care of individuals living in state run facilities have a duty to protect them from harm," said Thomas Perez, assistant Attorney General in charge of the Civil Rights Division. "Individuals in Georgia's hospitals are being subjected to a widespread pattern of violence and are not being protected from preventable deaths. We need quick action to protect these individuals."
Perez filed the motion as part of an earlier agreement reached with federal prosecutors in case of to ensure that patients' rights were protected.
The DOJ cited three incidents from last year they say illustrate the need for the monitor, including the alleged failure to adequately supervise a patient accused in a homicide, who later allegedly assaulted and killed another patient.
