Whenever mentally ill veteran Chris Hughes didn’t get his court- ordered medications, he invariably walked away from Denver halfway houses and ended up on the streets, his attorney said.
But instead of getting the drugs he needed, each time he got progressively tougher sentences for escape, until on Thursday a Denver judge sent him to prison, attorney Anne Sulton said.
“This is a tragedy,” Sulton said Thursday during an NAACP news conference at the Denver City and County Building.
Sulton and Denver NAACP president Menola Upshaw on Thursday offered 10 suggestions for Denver to improve its treatment of mentally ill veterans who get arrested – including that they get the medications they need.
“It’s reprehensible when we’re talking about our veterans,” Sulton said.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People recommends that Denver require all community corrections agencies to review court orders to ensure veterans are getting the medications they need.
Veterans who can’t afford the medications should get them free, the group said.
Community corrections staff should be trained to meet the unique needs of veterans, the NAACP also said, and the officers should be monitored to make sure veterans are getting the care they need.
Sulton has filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of Hughes and other unnamed veterans against the Colorado Department of Corrections claiming that the agency failed to treat mentally ill inmates like Hughes.
Alison Morgan, DOC spokeswoman, said that because the case is in litigation, she is unable to comment.
Hughes, convicted of auto theft in 2000, was sentenced Thursday to a year in prison for escape, according to an agreement between him and the Denver district attorney’s office.
Staff writer Kirk Mitchell can be reached at 303-954-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com.
