A proposed settlement on mental health is a win for all Oklahomans. But Kevin Stitt can’t see that

The Pawnee County Jail is pictured on Saturday, June 15, 2024. (Photo by Janelle Stecklein/Oklahoma Voice)

It’s become clear that our governor can’t recognize a good settlement offer if it bites him in the behind.

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond and lawyers representing indigent people who are mentally ill announced the two sides had reached a landmark settlement agreement that — if implemented properly — has a chance to reform how we care for incarcerated defendants who aren’t deemed competent to stand trial.

The settlement agreement requires the state mental health department to reduce waiting times for people to receive mental health treatment so they can assist in their own defense. It calls for the state to increase the number of beds dedicated for those services. It requires staffing numbers to increase and better training for those employees.

In addition, the state must implement a screening program to fast-track evaluation and placement of defendants in treatment settings, and it will force court-ordered competency evaluations to occur in a timely manner.

If the state doesn’t comply, it will be hit with financial penalties.

The settlement still needs the blessing of the federal court and our Legislature, but it seems like a step in the right direction.

Our state officials have been fine with allowing those vulnerable individuals to languish for months upon end in our county jails that are not equipped — and should not be required — to care for such complex mental health needs. 

It’s a scary thought that some of these defendants might not be guilty of the crimes that they’re accused of, yet we continue to hold them indefinitely because the Republicans who run the state haven’t had the political will to adequately fund the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services’ competency restoration program at the Oklahoma Forensic Center in Vinita.

Most of the people facing significant delays in receiving treatment to determine they’re competent are the poorest among us.

Can you believe that incarcerating Oklahomans for months on end without giving them their right to a speedy trial or to the ability to assist in their defense is a constitutional violation and violates the Americans with Disabilities Act?

Yeah. Most Oklahomans get it.

Two people that don’t seem to grasp the gravity are Gov. Kevin Stitt and his commissioner of mental health, Allie Friesen.

About two hours after Drummond, who is representing the interests of the Oklahoma taxpayers, announced the settlement agreement, the governor and commissioner put out their own joint press release, arguing it’s not in the best interest of the state.

Friesen argued that the settlement would divert money from other treatment programs and require the agency to spend upward of $100 million to pay for hundreds of new beds “despite data proving this to be unnecessary.”

The agency also argued that it would place “new, unreasonable burdens” on it.

“One should be afforded the opportunity to evaluate the data and the true needs of the citizens of Oklahoma before entering into an untimely settlement that is not in the best interest of the state or a good use of taxpayer dollars,” Friesen argued in a press release.

She then argued that only “a few months” into the role, she has not been given the chance to fix the program.

I don’t know what “data” Friesen is looking at that makes her think our system is working effectively and that it will only take a bit of duct tape and JB Weld to fix.

It’s obviously not working. After all, we’re spending our taxpayer funds fighting a massive lawsuit. The longer we deny the problem, the more costly it is going to get.

And we’re going to lose. What we’ve been doing is indefensible.

You need only visit a county jail to see that we’ve turned them into mental health wards. We obviously need more beds, and if it costs $100 million to fulfill our constitutional obligations, then we’re going to have to pay the piper.

This has been a significant long standing problem. The issue existed long before Stitt in January announced that he had tapped Friesen to become our state’s new mental health commissioner.

Forgive us if we doubt the promises that our mental health department will fix this if only we give them more time.

They’ve had plenty of time. 

Friesen was already on notice when she took over that the system was broken. She’s already had almost seven months to begin implementing “some changes that will better our competency program,” as she calls it.

Stitt, meanwhile, called it “a bad legal settlement,” and said Drummond is “forcing a settlement that will result in an immediate win for the plaintiffs’ attorneys at the expense of Oklahoma taxpayers.”

This settlement isn’t a win for attorneys. Thankfully, they weren’t even seeking any monetary gain. They just wanted a fix to a broken system.

This settlement is a win for vulnerable Oklahomans who desperately need restorative mental health treatment. 

This is a win for our court system.

It’s a win for our county jails and local governments, who shouldn’t be forced to house people indefinitely.

And, this is a win for our constitutional rights.

So, here’s hoping that our other state officials can recognize the terms of a good settlement when they see it.

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