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	<title>Secret Death of Mentally Ill Heart Patient in Shelby Co., TN Jail and Subsequent Cover-up by The Cochran Firm While Contracted to be Decedent's Family's Attorneys</title>
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		<title>Secret Death of Mentally Ill Heart Patient in Shelby Co., TN Jail and Subsequent Cover-up by The Cochran Firm While Contracted to be Decedent's Family's Attorneys</title>
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		<title>Letter to Denise Brown, Sister of Nicole Brown, Deceased</title>
		<link>http://mneal000.wordpress.com/2008/03/14/letter-to-denise-brown-sister-of-nicole-brown-deceased/</link>
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		<pubDate>Fri, 14 Mar 2008 22:59:28 +0000</pubDate>
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				<category><![CDATA[Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Human Interest]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mary Neal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[David McLaughlin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Decriminalize Mental Illness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Denise Brown]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Incarcerated Mentally Ill]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jail]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Johnny Cochran]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Memphis]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[March 14, 2008 Re:  Hattie Neal and Mary Neal v. The (Johnny) Cochran Firm United States District Court, Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Div;  Civil Action No. 1:07-cv-1935-TCB; Legal Malpractice, Fraud, Contract Fraud, Breach of Fiduciary Duty; Jury Trial Demanded &#8211; $30 million demand &#8211; 1/3 per defendant below; Filed: 8/15/07 (pro se &#8212; to [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mneal000.wordpress.com&amp;blog=1096866&amp;post=8&amp;subd=mneal000&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>March 14, 2008</p>
<div>Re: <em><strong> Hattie Neal and Mary Neal v. The (Johnny) Cochran Firm<br />
</strong></em>United States District Court, Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Div;  Civil Action No. 1:07-cv-1935-TCB;</div>
<div><strong>Legal Malpractice, Fraud, Contract Fraud, Breach of Fiduciary Duty; </strong></div>
<div>Jury Trial Demanded &#8211; $30 million demand &#8211; 1/3 per defendant below;</div>
<div>Filed: 8/15/07 (pro se &#8212; to protect the 4-year statute on contract fraud);</div>
<div>Hattie Neal and Mary Neal &#8211; 20-year residents of Atlanta, GA metro area;</div>
<div>Defendants Served: Cochran Cherry Givens &amp; Smith home office- Dothan AL; Cochran Firm Memphis Office (contract was signed); David McLaughlin, Esq. (Neal&#8217;s atty., as an individual); Diversity Action &#8211; different state residence among defendants and plaintiffs</div>
<div></div>
<div>See <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com/"><span class="yshortcuts">http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com</span></a></div>
<div></div>
<div>Also, just type &#8220;Cochran Firm Fraud&#8221; in your web browser, and just type &#8220;wrongful death of larry neal&#8221; in your web browser without adding the prefix &#8220;http://&#8221; and do not put the &#8220;.com.&#8221;</div>
<div></div>
<div><strong>Re:  Secret Incarceration and Wrongful Death of Mentally Ill Heart Patient in Shelby Co., TN Jail and Cover-up by The Cochran Firm While Under Contract to Represent the Deceased&#8217;s Elderly, Grieving Mother</strong></div>
<div></div>
<div>Hello, Ms. Brown:</div>
<div></div>
<div>Thanks to The Cochran Firm, another family has suffered the wrongful death of a loved one while the culprits go free.  But this time, The Cochran Firm won&#8217;t get away with it.  People have said to me that we should have known better than to contract with The Cochran Firm after their representation in the Simpson trial.  All I can say to you, Ms. Brown, is that I beleived the glove evidence, and I regret the decision to contract with The Cochran Firm with all my heart.  I want you to know how The Cochran Firm uses the wealth and power it gained by defending <span style="cursor:hand;border-bottom:#0066cc 1px dashed;" class="yshortcuts">O. J. Simpson</span> to defraud my family and to silence the media regarding its criminal and unethical wrongs.</div>
<div></div>
<div>My brother, Larry Neal, was a mentally ill heart patient who was secretly arrested in <span style="cursor:hand;border-bottom:#0066cc 1px dashed;" class="yshortcuts">Memphis, TN</span> in mid-July 2003.  While my family and his social worker searched for him everywhere, he was under secret arrest in a jail where he had landed many times in the past due to his unstable mental condition.  Shelby County Jail repeatedly and falsely denied having Larry under arrest during the entire 18 days he was &#8220;missing&#8221; until he died of a heart attack, apparently caused by lack of his heart drugs.  Immediately afterwards, Larry&#8217;s mother contracted with The (Johnny) Cochran Firm to bring a wrongful death suit against the jail.  We were never told that the managing partner of The Cochran Firm&#8217;s Memphis office was himself a 20+year member of the <span style="cursor:hand;border-bottom:#0066cc 1px dashed;" class="yshortcuts">Shelby County</span> Commission, the entity that owned and operated the jail where Larry suffered and died.  The Cochran Firm proceeded to bury our lawsuit on its shelves, holding it inactive for 10.5 months while the TN statute of limitations ran (only 12 months statute in <span style="cursor:hand;border-bottom:#0066cc 1px dashed;" class="yshortcuts">Tennessee</span>).  They committed fraud against us to protect the jail partly because the facility was already under federal overview for violations of the <span style="cursor:hand;border-bottom:#0066cc 1px dashed;" class="yshortcuts">civil rights</span> of detainees, especially handicapped persons.  My website explains all at <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com/"><span class="yshortcuts">http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com</span></a>.  Documentary evidence is on the website under the Documents tab.</div>
<div></div>
<div>When we sued The Cochran Firm for its fraud in Georgia Superior Court, we served suit to the law office we initially contacted about my brother&#8217;s euthanasia by the jail &#8212; the Atlanta office of the law firm.  This so-called Atlanta office of The Cochran Firm went to court and denied it was any such thing &#8212; it denied that identity in court despite prolific advertising of the Atlanta office of The Cochran Firm on television, public transportation, legal search engines on the Internet, and The Cochran Firm&#8217;s website.  The law office at 127 Peachtree Street disclaimed any affiliation with The Cochran Firm, and Judge Wendy Shoob dismissed our suit on that basis!  Surprisingly, the firm was allowed to go right ahead advertising the Atlanta office of The Cochran Firm until I threatened to sue the network television stations for carrying those ads.  Now, there are no Cochran Firm commercials in Georgia, as far as I know.  That was Step 1.  Step 2 &#8212; we proceeded to sue them in United States District Court (see the case style above).   </div>
<div></div>
<div>The media will not report this story, Ms. Brown, because the media makes so much $$ running The Cochran Firm&#8217;s ads for 20 its offices across the nation.  This is why you never heard of the lawsuit that The Cochran Firm would rather deny its existence in a major city than to face.  I hope you will take the time to visit our website, <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com/"><span class="yshortcuts">http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com</span></a>. </div>
<div></div>
<div>We have established a foundation, Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill (&#8220;AIMI&#8221;) to help other handicapped people like Larry, who spent 20 years in a mental institution until he was turned out in the 1970&#8242;s, with no conception of how to behave according to the laws of our land.  Like many mentally ill people, Larry committed many misdemeanors (talking loud, panhandling, etc.), and was arrested frequently until police apparently became weary of their roles as psychiatric caretakers to this sick man, my brother.  I learned from you and others like you,  Ms. Brown, to turn my pain into an avenue of  assistance to other victims like Larry.  I now advocate for the mentally ill prisoners in America, who comprise approximately 30% of all incarcerees.</div>
<div></div>
<div>Please write to me and give me any advice you may have &#8212; I need your encouragement.  If you write to me and I do not respond within 24 hours, please assume I did not get your e-mail.  My electronic mail has experienced numerous problems since I sued The Cochran Firm.  My phone number is <span style="cursor:hand;border-bottom:#0066cc 1px dashed;" class="yshortcuts">xxxxxx</span>, cell no. <span style="cursor:hand;border-bottom:#0066cc 1px dashed;" class="yshortcuts">770-896-2722</span>.</div>
<div></div>
<div>Blessings,</div>
<div>See <a target="_blank" href="http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com/"><span class="yshortcuts">http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com</span></a>Mary Neal<br />
Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill<br />
P.O. Box 7222<br />
<span style="cursor:hand;border-bottom:#0066cc 1px dashed;" class="yshortcuts">Atlanta, GA 30357</span><br />
<span style="cursor:hand;border-bottom:#0066cc 1px dashed;" class="yshortcuts"><a href="mailto:mln@wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com">mln@wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com</a> </span><br />
<a href="mailto:mneal000@yahoo.com">mneal000@yahoo.com</a></div>
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		<title>HAPPY MARTIN LUTHER KING&#8217;S DAY TO AMERICANS – THE STRONGEST PEOPLE ON EARTH!</title>
		<link>http://mneal000.wordpress.com/2008/01/20/happy-martin-luther-kings-day-to-americans-%e2%80%93-the-strongest-people-on-earth/</link>
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		<pubDate>Sun, 20 Jan 2008 17:55:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>mneal000</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Health]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[Here is a video regarding Negro Spirituals and perhaps the most celebrated song ever written by a white songwriter:  http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=DMF_24cQqT0 What an emotional presentation!  I could not stand to listen as Wintley Phipps began humming the non-lyrical version of Amazing Grace &#8212; the melodic moans that John Newton heard filtering up from the [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mneal000.wordpress.com&amp;blog=1096866&amp;post=7&amp;subd=mneal000&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><font face="Times New Roman">Here is a video regarding Negro Spirituals and perhaps the most celebrated song ever written by a white songwriter:<span>  </span></font><a target="_blank" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMF_24cQqT0" title="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMF_24cQqT0"><font face="Times New Roman">http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=DMF_24cQqT0</font></a><font face="Times New Roman"><br />
</font><font face="Times New Roman">What an emotional presentation! <span> </span>I could not stand to listen as <span style="color:black;">Wintley Phipps </span>began humming the non-lyrical version of Amazing Grace &#8212; the melodic moans that John Newton heard filtering up from the slave pit on his ship and later used to pen this most amazing song celebrating God&#8217;s forgiving and loving nature.</font><font face="Times New Roman"> </font><font face="Times New Roman">My God! <span> </span>What we have endured! <span> </span>Have you ever considered the scientific theory &#8220;survival of the fittest&#8221; and its implications for Africans who were transported on those slave ships across the ocean during months of rough seas? <span> </span>If one believes in that theory, then people who descended from those Africans are indeed the strongest people on the planet. <span> </span>During the months at sea, many died and their bodies were eventually dumped overboard. <span> </span>Some of the women were pregnant or became pregnant after rapes, and some of these babies held fast in their wombs to be born on this continent. <span> </span>The food was atrocious, the brutality beyond imagination. <span> </span>Plenty died, half naked, chained in putrid air in the bottom of the slave vessels. <span> </span>Some may have been killed, if they got too sick, allowing more food and room for the healthy cargo to fetch the highest price at the slave markets. <span> </span>Therefore, Brothers and Sisters, only the fittest survived. <span> </span>Descendents of Africans who survived on those slave merchant vessels went through such a horrible process of weeding out the weakest through the arduous journey that only the strongest survived, and they are our ancestors. <span> </span>Our genes are derived from the genetically superior future slaves who did not lose their minds or much of their health, or their determination to survive!<span>  </span>The journey across the Atlantic was then followed by centuries of enforced servitude under cruel circumstances, during which these Africans who were from various nations across that continent were forced to learn a new language, new survival skills, and develop a new common African American culture.<span>  </span>What a people!</font><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman">The Jews who survived Hitler&#8217;s concentration camps are another group of people who went through an even more depraved type of weeding out of the weakest among them.<span>  </span>At least African slaves were a commodity.<span>  </span>As such, there may have been limitations on the amount of bodily injury their capturers and masters wanted to inflict, although the mental abuse went on for centuries and continues.<span>  </span>Jews had no such protection.<span>  </span>The ratio of survivors of the Holocaust may have been only one out of thousands!<span>  </span>Did you ever see pictures of the emaciated people the Allied Forces took out of the death camps?<span>  </span>Imagine the degradation!<span>  </span>Most Jews who escaped capture by the Germans nevertheless were unwelcome in other countries of Europe and even America during and after WWII, and great was their suffering.<span>  </span>Yet, the strongest Jews survived, and many of their strong offspring became part of the American-Jewish population.</font><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman">The first European settlers on this continent included tough Pilgrims and later, thousands of people who were transported from European prisons as indentured servants.  These early white settlers also went through a rigorous weeding out process.<span>  </span>The weakest of these people died under the tough conditions on the early vessels facing poor nutrition, lack of medical care, overcrowded and unsanitary living conditions during months of sea travel.  Their journey to America was followed by years of war, various plagues, and many died.  Later, only the strongest frontiersmen survived during the Western expansion.  Later still, America’s European immigrants of the early and mid-20th century had already survived poverty, world war, and political injustice before crossing the sea on ships, daring to step out on faith to seek a better existence in America.</font><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman">Consider Native Americans!<span>  </span>Only the strongest among them survived the diseases brought to this continent by early European explorers to the mainland, Hawaii and Alaska!<span>  </span>On the continent, this weeding out of the weakest among Native Americans by disease was then followed by years of war and such atrocities as the Trail of Tears.<span>  </span>But the strongest survived!</font><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman">Orientals from China and other nations in the East lived on ships sometimes for months, some as stowaways, before reaching American shores. <span> </span>Upon arrival, many of the earliest Eastern immigrants became little more than slaves, and they helped to build America&#8217;s railroads and performed grueling menial tasks. <span> </span></font><font face="Times New Roman"> </font><font face="Times New Roman">Plenty of the Mexican immigrants of yesterday and today had to survive hell getting across the border &#8212; many of whom died on the short journey. <span> </span>Determination and sure grit got them here.</font></p>
<p style="margin:0;" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman"><span></span></font></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman"><span></span></font><font face="Times New Roman">That, my Brothers and Sisters, is why America is comprised of such tough people! <span> </span>Strong people &#8212; strong wills, strong constitutions! <span> </span>Most of us on this continent who call America home came from ancestors who went through survival tests that killed the weakest members of each group. <span> </span>Wouldn&#8217;t it be awesome if we Americans could actually come together and celebrate and embrace our differences! <span> </span>&#8220;Wouldn&#8217;t that be some &#8216;um!&#8221; as my grandma used to say. <span> </span></font><font face="Times New Roman"><span> </span></font><font face="Times New Roman">What&#8217;s really stopping us from coming together &#8212; skin hues? <span> </span>Old, stupid prejudices, perhaps fueled by a power structure that fears our unity? <span> </span>Lack of understanding that one God made and loves us all? <span> </span>Do you actually LOVE anyone who is of a different race from yours?<span>  </span>Do you believe that someone from a different race can really love you? <span> </span>Are you loved by anyone who does not share your religious beliefs, ethnicity, or nationality? <span> </span>I&#8217;ve lived in the South all my life, so this idea is a relatively new for me. <span> </span>However, the closer I draw to the Father, the more I consider such things as brotherly love across all social and racial and national and cultural and economic barriers. <span> </span>What might we accomplish in this world if we actually come together in love and mutual respect and work together to solve the problems of our common home, Earth? <span> </span>Would our news headlines then change?<span>  </span>Might they read, “World Peace Declared?”<span>  </span>“World Hunger Ended!”<span>  </span>“Global Warming Conquered!”<span>  </span>“Many Diseases Wiped Out!”<span>  </span>What accomplishments have we forfeited over the years by our failure to come together and work for the common good of all peoples?</font><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman"><em>And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.</em> <span> </span>Genesis 11:6</font><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman">These might be good things to consider as we celebrate the upcoming Holiday, in honor of a man who shared with us his dream for harmony among all peoples.</font><span style="color:#333333;"><font face="Times New Roman"><span> </span></font></span></p>
<p><span style="color:#333333;"><font face="Times New Roman"><span></span></font></span><font face="Times New Roman"><strong><span style="color:#333333;">HAPPY MARTIN LUTHER KING&#8217;S DAY!</span></strong><span style="color:#333333;"></span></font><span style="color:#333333;"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></p>
<p><span style="color:#333333;"></span><span style="color:#333333;"><font face="Times New Roman">Mary Neal<br />
</font></span><span style="color:#333333;"><font face="Times New Roman">Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill<br />
</font></span><font face="Times New Roman"><span style="color:#333333;">P.O. Box</span><span style="color:#333333;"> 7222</span><span style="color:#333333;"></span></font><font face="Times New Roman"><span class="yshortcuts"><span style="color:#333333;">Atlanta</span></span><span class="yshortcuts"><span style="color:#333333;">, </span></span><span class="yshortcuts"><span style="color:#333333;">GA</span></span><span class="yshortcuts"><span style="color:#333333;"> <span> </span></span></span><span class="yshortcuts"><span style="color:#333333;">30357<br />
</span></span><span style="color:#333333;"></span></font><span style="color:#333333;"><a target="_blank" href="http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com/"><span class="yshortcuts"><span style="color:#003399;text-decoration:none;"><font face="Times New Roman">http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com</font></span></span></a><br />
</span></p>
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		<title>Secret Death of Mentally Ill Heart Patient in Shelby Co., TN Jail and Cover-up of Same by The Cochran Firm While Under Contract to Represent Decedent&#8217;s Family</title>
		<link>http://mneal000.wordpress.com/2007/05/15/secret-death-of-mentally-ill-heart-patient-in-shelby-co-tn-jail-and-cover-up-of-same-by-the-cochran-firm-while-under-contract-to-represent-decedents-family/</link>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 15 May 2007 14:52:27 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description><![CDATA[I am writing in hopes that some of readers might be able and willing to contact me with information about the incarceration and death of my brother, Larry Morris Neal, in Shelby County Jail on August 1, 2003.  Larry was a mentally ill heart patient who was reported missing by his care home during a [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=mneal000.wordpress.com&amp;blog=1096866&amp;post=4&amp;subd=mneal000&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I am writing in hopes that some of readers might be able and willing to contact me with information about the incarceration and death of my brother, Larry Morris Neal, in Shelby County Jail on August 1, 2003.  Larry was a mentally ill heart patient who was reported missing by his care home during a heat wave in mid-July 2003.  For the next 18 days, Larry&#8217;s family and social worker searched for him as a missing person.  Shelby County, Tennessee Jail repeatedly and falsely reported that Larry was not incarcerated.  On the morning on Aug. 1, 2003, police reported to Larry&#8217;s family that he died of a heart attack in jail, where he had been incarcerated for the entire period he was &#8220;missing.&#8221;  For almost four years now, Shelby Co. Govt. and other governmental entities have denied my family access to relevant records of Larry&#8217;s incarceration and wrongful death.  Larry&#8217;s elderly mother contracted immediately after Larry&#8217;s death with The Cochran Firm, signing contract in the law firm&#8217;s Memphis office, which was managed at the time by Julian Bolton, Esq.  Of course, she was not informedthat the firm only contracted with my mom to trick her and actually prevent her wrongful death suit against the jail.  Mr. Bolton was a long-standing member of the Shelby County Board of Commissioners, the entity that owns and operates the jail where Larry was imprisoned until death for his mental disability (presumably without his prescription heart drugs).  It is apparently illegal to be mentally ill in America.  Thank you in advance for any assistance you might be able to give in this matter.  Attached is a letter going to each United States Senator asking their help in resolving Larry&#8217;s death, thereby bringing closure to his family.  It details our almost four-year quest for information and justice in the matter of Larry&#8217;s death.  Thank you in advance if you are able to assist.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:18pt;font-family:'Monotype Corsiva';">Mary L. Neal</span><font face="Times New Roman"><br />
</font><font face="Times New Roman"><br />
</font><font face="Times New Roman"><br />
<address><span style="font-size:11.5pt;">5315 Kelleys Mill Circle</span></address>
<address><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"></span><font face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;">Stone Mountain</span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;">, GA<span>  </span>30088<br />
</span></font><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><a href="mailto:mln@theywrong.com"><font face="Times New Roman">mln@theywrong.com</font></a><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"> <span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;">May 12, 2007</span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"></span></font><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></span></p>
<p></font></span></address>
<p></font><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><strong><u><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman">Via e-Mail and U. S. Mail</font></span></u></strong><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman">United States Senator</font></span><font face="Times New Roman"><br />
<span style="font-size:11.5pt;">Washington</span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;">, DC<span>  </span>20510</span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"></span></font><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><strong><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman">Re:<span>      </span>Secret Death of Mentally Ill Heart Patient in Shelby County, Tennessee Jail While that Facility Was Supervised by United States Justice Department; and</font></span></strong><strong><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></strong></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><strong><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman">Cover-up of Same by the Cochran Firm While Pretending, Under Contract, to Represent Decedent’s Family</font></span></strong><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></span></p>
<p></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman">Dear  Sir/Madam:</font></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman">I am writing to you, Senator, to solicit your help in resolving issues surrounding the death of my brother, Larry Morris Neal.<span>  </span>He was a<strong> </strong>mentally ill heart patient who was secretly arrested in mid‑July 2003 and detained until his death on August 1, 2003, in Shelby County Jail in Memphis, Tennessee.<span>  </span>Larry spent most of his life from early childhood (age 9 through his mid-20’s) in Western State Mental Hospital in Bolivar, Tennessee.<span>  </span>As you know, during the 70’s, many such institutions were closed or no longer kept mental patients who presented no apparent threat to the public.<span>  </span>After release from </font></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman">Western State, Larry was arrested numerous times for misdemeanors connected with his handicap, paranoid schizophrenia.<span>  </span>The last ten years of his life, Larry suffered from severe respiratory problems and a heart condition that necessitated prescription drugs for his survival.<span>  </span>During the 18 days of Larry’s final incarceration, his family and State-appointed social worker searched for him as a missing person.<span>  </span>The jail falsely and repeatedly reported that neither Larry Neal nor a John Doe meeting his physical description was incarcerated in that facility.<span>  </span>It is therefore reasonable to assume that Larry received none of his vital prescription heart and psychiatric drugs during incarceration, which likely caused his death.<span>  </span>Larry supposedly was unidentified until he died, despite the fact that (i) he had suffered many contemporaneous arrests in that very same facility for misdemeanors related to his mental illness, with the last arrest only two weeks prior to the incarceration that killed him; (ii)  Memphis police had supplied emergency transport to mental hospitals for emergency treatment during Larry’s psychotic episodes for more than 25 years; and (3) Memphis police were fully aware of Larry Neal’s heart condition and had contact information for his social worker, who was usually called when Larry was arrested on public nuisance charges, panhandling, and the like.<span> </span></font></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"><br />
</font></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"><strong><br />
Shelby </strong><strong>County Jail was under federal overview by the U. S. Justice Department following suit by the<br />
U.S.A., filed under the Americans with Disabilities Act.</strong><span>  </span>One would think that overview by the United States Department of Justice would ensure openness and honesty from everyone connected with Larry’s death.<span>  </span>Contrarily, for nearly four years, all requests by Larry’s family to government entities, including the Justice Department, for reports, explanations, and accountability regarding my brother’s euthanasia have been ignored, or we were told no reports exist.<span>  </span></font></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman">I attribute the fact that Larry’s family has never received any information explaining Larry’s incarceration and death to The Cochran Firm.<span>  </span>Unfortunately, Larry’s family hired The Cochran Firm to file Larry’s wrongful death suit, never knowing that The Cochran Firm’s managing partner in the law firm’s<br />
Memphis office, Julian Bolton, Esq., had a vested interest in seeing to it that our suit against Shelby County Jail never got filed.<span>  </span>I cannot begin to tell you how hurt we were to learn that The Cochran Firm deliberately tricked my grieving, elderly mother into signing a contract for legal representation that the law firm never had the smallest intention of honoring.<span>  </span>Rather, it was necessary for The Cochran Firm to trick Larry’s family into believing we had lawyers so that no honest lawyer would ever get the opportunity to really work in our behalf and file suit against Shelby County Jail.<span>  </span>Because we planned to sue, it was not surprising that Shelby County Government was not forthcoming with information about Larry’s incarceration and death.<span>  </span>However, if Larry’s family had indeed had an honest attorney, those records would have been subpoenaed and released during discovery.<span>  </span>That is exactly why The Cochran Firm contracted with my mother – to prevent her hiring an honest attorney with no conflict of interest in the matter of Larry’s wrongful death.</font></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman">Below, I offer a brief chronicle of my family’s fruitless efforts over nearly four years to get information and demand accountability for Larry’s death:</font></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span><strong><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman">Shelby </font></span></strong><strong><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman">County Jail<br />
Shelby County Government<br />
<u>Shelby </u><u>County</u></font></span></strong><strong><u><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"> Attorney<br />
</font></span></u></strong><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman">In response to my inquiry, the</font></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"> County Attorney declared “We did nothing wrong,” but rendered no explanation or report.<span>  </span>(Letter from Brian L. Kuhn, Shelby County Attorney, dated 8/17/06)</font></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></span></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"></span></span><font face="Times New Roman"><strong><u><span style="font-size:11.5pt;">Shelby </span></u></strong><strong><u><span style="font-size:11.5pt;">County</span></u></strong><strong><u><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"> Coroner’s Office<br />
</span></u></strong></font><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman">Faxed the Neals a poor copy of Larry’s autopsy drawings with sketchy narrative descriptions, but lacking a full narrative report.<span>  </span>When asked for a detailed autopsy report and a coroner’s investigative report, the Coroner’s office replied that there were no further reports on Larry’s death.</font></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman">Larry’s autopsy was performed by the office of</font></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"> Shelby County’s Chief Medical Examiner, Dr. O. C. Smith.<span>  </span>This same man was later indicted by the U.S. Justice Department for faking his own kidnapping after placing a note on his person accusing himself of lying in favor of Memphis police in a capital murder case.<span>  </span>The accused in this case was facing a death sentence, having maintained throughout his trial that it was a policeman who shot the policeman he was accused of killing.</font></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"></span><strong><u><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman">US Department of Justice</font></span></u></strong></span></p>
<p></span><strong><u><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"></span></u></strong><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman">According to the USA’s Agreement with Shelby County Government, the jail was to issue monthly reports as well as an inmate mortality report when someone died in custody.<span>  </span>In response to my letter to the Justice Department, which was addressed to Terrell L. Harris, Mellie Nelson, Mary Bohan, and Tammie Gregg, the Justice Department reported that that agency never received any report regarding Larry Neal from Shelby County Jail/ Government (signed by Marie A. O’Rourke, Assistant Director, July 26, 2005)(copies attached).</font></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman">Subsequently, the Justice Department failed to respond to Larry’s family’s request under the Open Records Act for ANY reports from Shelby County Government/Jail for the time period Larry was incarcerated and died.<span>  </span>Any reports from the jail to the Justice Department for July and August 2003 that failed to report Larry’s death were misleading at best, and likely fraudulent.<span>  </span>(See attached our 3/29/06 request, directed to Chief John L. Wodatch, for copies of those reports under the Open Records Act.)</font></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman">The Justice Department subsequently released Shelby County Jail from overview without any investigation regarding Larry Neal’s death, to my knowledge.</font></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><strong><u><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman">The Cochran Firm<br />
</font></span></u></strong><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman">Fraud / Undisclosed Conflict of Interest / Deliberate Malpractice</font></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></span></p>
<p></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman">This law firm contracted with the Neals (August 2003) to file a wrongful death action against Shelby County Jail and a negligence suits against the State of Tennessee and Larry’s final care home.<span>  </span>The Cochran Firm did not reveal to its clients the fact that the firm’s Managing Partner of the Memphis office, Julian Bolton, Esq., was a 20+year member of the Shelby County Commission, which is the entity that owns and operates the jail where Larry died.<span>  </span>The Cochran Firm used its position as our attorneys to shield Shelby County Jail from our lawsuit by accepting our case and allowing it to languish on its shelves while the statute ran.<span>  </span>After successfully preventing our suit against Shelby County,<br />
Bolton was promoted to the position of Treasurer of the Board of Commissioners, and then to Chairman.<span>  </span>Ironically, Julian Bolton is/was also a valued member on the Midtown Board of Mental Health.</font></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman">The Cochran Firm lied to clients <em>before</em> contract, stating that the firm’s conflict check resulted in no impediments to their representation.<span>  </span>This firm lied to the Neals in writing <em>after </em>contract regarding a fictitious and nonexistent investigation and discovery process it was conducting and cautioned us not to discuss the Larry’s jail death with anyone, because that law firm would handle everything.<span>  </span>But, instead of behaving as the Neals’ attorneys, The Cochran Firm merely held Larry’s wrongful death case <u>inactive</u> for nearly 11 months while the statute of limitations ran (12 months in<br />
Tennessee).<span>  </span>By the time the Neals found out about The Cochran Firm’s ties to their defendant and the law firm’s lies about a nonexistent discovery process, it was too late for another law firm to accept our case on a contingent fee basis.<span>  </span>(The poor in<br />
America suffer many injustices for the lack of affordable legal counsel.)<span>  </span>Later, The Cochran Firm lied to the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility during its investigation of the Neals’ malpractice allegations.<span>  </span>David McLaughlin, who was The Cochran Firm attorney assigned to handle Larry’s wrongful death and negligence suits, presented fraudulent documentation to that Tennessee Bar during its investigation.</font></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman">The Neals filed suit <em>pro se </em>for fraud against The Cochran Firm, having their Complaint served to the law firm’s “Atlanta office,” which was the office the Neals originally contacted and arranged for legal representation on August 1, 2003, immediately following Larry’s death.<span>  </span>The Cochran Firm’s Atlanta office answered our suit in the name of “CCGSS,” and claimed in its discovery responses not to be The Cochran Firm (as it had represented to the Neals prior to contract signing) and denied any affiliation whatsoever with other Cochran Firm offices.<span>  </span></font></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"><strong><u><span style="font-size:11.5pt;">Fulton </span></u></strong><strong><u><span style="font-size:11.5pt;">County, GA</span></u></strong><strong><u><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"> Superior Court<br />
</span></u></strong></font></span><font face="Times New Roman"><em><span style="font-size:11.5pt;">Hattie Neal and Mary Neal v. The Cochran Firm</span></em><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"> (Civil Action No. 2005CV104215 – filed 8/1/05 &#8212; Fraud suit brought <em>pro se</em> against The Cochran Firm)</span></font><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman">Judge Shoob dismissed our case against The Cochran Firm on June 8, 2006, with her Order citing two reasons:<span>  </span>(a) the judge found that there is no Cochran Firm in Georgia.<span>  </span>Meanwhile, The Cochran Firm advertised then and continues to advertise now its legal services to millions of Georgians via rapid transit system television commercials, network television, the Internet, etc., with business being conducted out of its Peachtree Street, downtown Atlanta offices; and (b) Judge Shoob further stated that our suit was dismissed because Plaintiffs did not specifically allege fraud in their Complaint.<span>  </span>You will note that (1) FRAUD is clearly listed as <em>the cause of action</em> on the court’s filing form completed by the Neals to initiate the court action; (2) throughout their Complaint, Plaintiffs allege fraud against The Cochran Firm; and (3) in the conclusion of their Complaint, Plaintiffs specifically asked for punitive damages for The Cochran Firm’s fraud against Plaintiffs (see attached hereto Plaintiff’s Complaint p. 15, ¶ 113(b); and see the Complaint’s filing form).</font></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman">Surprisingly, when the discovery period ended and it was time for the court to set a trial date, it was reported to the Neals that the Fulton County Superior Court Clerk’s Office had “lost” an important motion from the court’s file.<span>  </span>As a legal secretary for over a decade in<br />
Georgia, I have filed hundreds of motions with Fulton County Superior Court and worked alongside countless other legal secretaries, yet this is the only instance I ever heard of this court losing a motion from its file.<span>  </span>Furthermore, only two weeks prior to receiving the notification of a “lost motion,” I had personally reviewed our court file under the watchful eye of a Superior Court clerk, and found the file to be in order.<span>  </span>Documents were filed in a top-hole punch folder, ordering documents with the earlier dates at the bottom.<span>  </span>Many other documents would have had to be removed from our court file and replaced for one to access and “lose” the motion.</font></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman">With Judge Shoob’s dismissal of our suit, Larry’s family was denied the opportunity of having a jury trial, and those responsible for Larry’s death and the subsequent cover-up were given yet another reprieve from complete public disclosure regarding the circumstances of Larry’s incarceration and death.</font></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></span></span></p>
<p></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman">The selection of a Fulton County Superior Court judge for any given case is supposed to be by a random lottery process.<span>  </span>However, Judge Shoob is likely the only judge on a Georgia Superior Court who ever presided over another case involving allegations of wrongful death against Memphis, Tennessee police.<span>  </span>The Internet reports that in a case assigned to Judge Shoob through a change of venue several years ago, she ruled favorably for Memphis police regarding the admissibility of certain key evidence.<span>  </span>Major coincidence?<span>  </span>By now we understood that Larry’s family was unlikely to get any opportunity to have a fair hearing against The Cochran Firm in open court, perhaps even if we appealed to a higher court or filed against the firm in another venue.<span>  </span>We understood that we would probably only receive more of the same treatment.<span>  </span>A Georgia court recently sentenced two black boys to prison for 10 years because they killed a puppy.<span>  </span>Even that dead dog got his day in court.<span>  </span>Does this mean that the life of a mentally ill man is not equivalent to the worth of a dog?</font></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman">One thing is clear to me now regarding another case handled by The Cochran Firm:<span>  </span>It was not necessarily the same glove.<br />
</font></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span><font face="Times New Roman"><br />
<strong><u><span style="font-size:11.5pt;">Tennessee</span></u></strong><strong><u><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"> Board of Professional Responsibility<br />
</span></u></strong></font><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman">In September 2005, we lodged a complaint against The Cochran Firm with the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility.<span>  </span>Jesse D. Joseph, the Disciplinary counsel assigned to the case, performed a cursory investigation and then hastily dismissed the Neal’s case against David McLaughlin, The Cochran Firm’s attorney the Board held accountable for answering the Neals’ allegations against that law firm.<span>  </span>Mr. Joseph closed the investigation within weeks, without asking to review any proof of wrongdoing against The Cochran Firm that the Neals had to present.<span>  </span>The case was re-opened in the Spring of 2006, after the Neals informed the Board (by e-mail to all members) that Larry’s family was seeking justice in another venue (namely, the lawsuit filed against The Cochran Firm in the Superior Court of Fulton County, Georgia).</font></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman">By letter dated October 19, 2006, Lance B. Bracy, Chief Disciplinary Counsel of the Board, ruled, however, to close our case without any sanctions against The Cochran Firm.<span>  </span>In so doing, the Board found that the Cochran Firm did nothing wrong in (1) lying to its clients and concealing its conflict of interest from clients; (2) performing no substantive work on the client’s case during the 10.5 months it was under contract as the family’s attorneys, despite letters to its clients that discovery was going forth; and (3) falsifying documentation to the Board in its defense of the Neals’ allegations of professional misconduct against The Cochran Firm.<span>  </span>In dismissing the case, the Board offered no response to the Neals’ material evidence regarding forged and fraudulent documents submitted to that body by McLaughlin.</font></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"><strong><u><span style="font-size:11.5pt;">Georgia </span></u></strong><strong><u><span style="font-size:11.5pt;">Bar</span></u></strong><strong><u><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"></span></u></strong><font face="Times New Roman"><br />
<span style="font-size:11.5pt;">Georgia</span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;">’s Board of Professional Responsibility gave no response whatsoever to the Neals’ report to that agency of professional misconduct by The Cochran Firm.</span></font><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></font></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"><strong><u><span style="font-size:11.5pt;">DeKalb County</span></u></strong><strong><u><span style="font-size:11.5pt;">, Georgia</span></u></strong><strong><u><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"> Police Department<br />
</span></u></strong></font><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman">Failed to investigate or respond in any way to the Neals’ report of phone tampering and removal of Yahoo e-mails that related to Larry Neal’s death.<span>  </span>(Police report filed 5/10/06, with Officer Perkins, no. 2426, case no. 06-064301, Center Precinct)</font></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"><strong><u><span style="font-size:11.5pt;">Your Name Goes Here<br />
</span></u></strong><strong><span style="font-size:11.5pt;">(I am writing my personal appeal to each U. S. Senator, individually.)<br />
</span></strong></font><strong><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman">How say you, Senator?<span>  </span>Will you help us resolve Larry’s death, please?<span>  </span>Do you believe in the God-given, unalienable rights of all Americans, including those with disabilities?<span>  </span>Even the mentally ill?<span>  </span>Even black men?<span>  </span>Even the indigent?<span>  </span>If so, please help bring closure to Larry’s 84‑year-old mother.<span>  </span>She fell and hurt her hip in the lobby of The Cochran Firm’s office building in Memphis as we left the contract meeting four years ago.<span>  </span>Her fall apparently triggered arthritis throughout her body.<span>  </span>Hattie Neal has not had a single pain-free day since that fall, which she suffered due to her weakened, grieving state after having contracted with counsel on the morning immediately following Larry’s funeral.<span>  </span>Larry’s mother believed that in placing her case with that law firm, she had helped to prevent other mothers from enduring the death of their handicapped children in jail due to negligence and/or euthanasia.<span>  </span>Won’t you help?</font></span></strong><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman">The list of persons and entities the Neals contacted in our continual quest for information and justice regarding Larry’s wrongful death is four-years long, despite verifiable proof for all allegations.<span>  </span>The details of our quest for justice in this matter are truly shameful for<br />
America, a country so concerned about human rights around the globe, with a creed of equality and justice for all of her citizens.<span>  </span>This letter is a personal appeal for your assistance, Senator.<span>  </span>In addition to this letter-writing campaign, a website is being constructed (</font><a href="http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com/"><font face="Times New Roman">http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com</font></a><font face="Times New Roman">), and demonstrations are planned to cry out to the world for help in gaining information and to finally reconcile the issues of Larry’s imprisonment and death.<span>  </span>Hopefully, our efforts will assist thousands of mentally ill persons like Larry who yet languish in American jails.<span>  </span>The once great American press, which I have contacted repeatedly to no avail about this certain front page news event, has obviously abdicated its role as our government watchdog.<span>  </span>But praise the Lord for Bill Gates and others who made it possible for ordinary citizens to research and report their own issues.<span>  </span>The advent of the personal computer and the Internet may help to slow my country’s fast gallop down the road toward fascism, as we shed with abandon our precious and hard-won liberties each day.<span>  </span>In the absence of official reports which we have not the means to substantiate anyway, we are hopeful that one of Larry’s fellow inmates or some sympathetic police officer or jail guard will visit our webpage and come forward to tell us how things really were with Larry during his final incarceration, thereby helping to bring closure to his family. </font></span><span style="font-size:8pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span><span style="font-size:8pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;">I hope that America will soon move away from its practice of imprisoning its mentally ill citizens.<span>  </span>Let us not continue to replace psychiatrists with policemen.<span>  </span>We must not continue to substitute long-term inpatient care and mental hospital beds with cold, iron prison racks, where sick people are offered no mattresses and no cover and often, no clothes, lest a sick prisoner hurt himself.<span>  </span>We must not continue answering the need for compassionate care for the mentally ill with chains, mace, Taser guns, and bullets.<span>  </span>Mental illness is not a crime, Senator; it is a handicap.<span>  </span>As such, we must discontinue the Dark Age practice of keeping our sick people in dungeons, particularly those Americans who have diagnosed mental impairments that make it impossible for them to comprehend and abide by the laws that rule the behavior of ordinary citizens.<span>  </span>The Cochran Firm had on its brochure in 2003 when it tricked my mother into signing contract this quote: <span> </span>“To whom much is given, much is expected.”<span>  </span>Luke 12:48.<span>  </span>America has so much to spend defending human rights in foreign lands, including the lives of our young soldiers and billions of dollars.<span>  </span>Yet, the condition of our mentally ill citizens, evident in my brother’s incarceration and death, rises to the level of cruel and unusual punishment.<span>  </span>So, I answer to The Cochran Firm’s Bible quote with one of my own, and one that I feel should be applied by my government in its treatment of the mentally ill:<span>  </span>“</span>And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the <span>least</span> of <span>these</span> My brethren, ye have done it unto Me<span style="font-size:11.5pt;">.<span>  </span>Then shall He say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.”<span>  </span>Matthew 25:40-41.<span>  </span>We must not allow our response to mental illness continue to be jail, commitment to substandard hospitals (as evidenced by the recent deaths in one Atlanta area mental hospital), homelessness, and euthanasia.<span>  </span>I believe that America is better than that, and her citizens rightfully expect more for their incapacitated brethren.<span>  </span>If we do not address this problem now, Senator, what next?<span>  </span>What will we do with our many children diagnosed with autism, bipolar disorder, or Downs Syndrome? <span> </span>What are we going to do with the soldiers who return from combat brain damaged due to the shock of bombs exploding near their heads?<span>  </span>What of our elders with Alzheimer’s?<span>  </span>Will we simply build more jails and order up more chains?<span>  </span>Will we just starve our brain damaged citizens to death, as was done in Florida?<span>  </span>What has happened to this “one nation under God”?<span>  </span>Is hospitalization in America to continue to be a solution only for the wealthy or the criminally insane, while the rest of our mentally ill citizens crowd our jails and place an unfair burden on our criminal justice system?<span>  </span>Are families to lock their deranged loved ones away in basements and attics to prevent their being arrested for misbehaving in public?<span>  </span>It is as though our society says, “We realize you are a paranoid schizophrenic with hallucinations and a child’s level of understanding, but we demand that you control yourself and act like a regular, responsible guy, or off to jail you go!”<span>  </span>But no matter how often these “hardened criminals” are arrested for their dementia, no matter how cruelly they are treated as inmates, they yet fail to significantly modify their behavior and stay out of trouble.<span>  </span>Why can’t they just go tuck themselves quietly away under an overpass or behind a dumpster and talk to their phantom friends and dodge laser rays from Mars?<span>  </span>Is that too much to ask?</span></font><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></span></span></p>
<p></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman">We have regressed a great deal over the last 30 years in caring for our chronically mentally ill citizens.<span>  </span>The hospital where we visited my brother on Sundays when I was a child was a large, attractive, and serene place with manicured lawns and comfortable seating for visiting with family members on the lawn or inside, if the patient did not have outdoor privileges.<span>  </span>I’d watch as my mother sat with Larry on a park bench, speaking gently to him while holding his hand.<span>  </span>On his good days, Larry could sit still and tell us about his therapy sessions and crafts classes and the hospital’s weekly social event.<span>  </span>He and the other patients would try hard all week to remain orderly and follow instructions, lest they be denied attendance.<span>  </span>Nowadays, only the very rich can hope to have their sick loved ones in such an atmosphere with psychiatric care and a skilled, compassionate staff.<span>  </span>The mentally ill in America who just cannot seem to stop disturbing the peace and show proper respect for the law (which many of them cannot even <em>understand</em>) are thrown into jail for their illegal psychosis, their criminal disability.<span>  </span>Is there really that great a difference between the cost of imprisoning as opposed to hospitalizing those mentally ill persons whose conditions prohibit them from being able to survive unrestrained in our society?<span>  </span>Even if hospitalization is more expensive than imprisoning these unfortunate misfits, which I doubt, let us immediately stop punishing people for being sick.<span>  </span>I understand that incarceration is no cheap undertaking, Senator, with each prisoner costing the state a good deal of money to house, feed, clothe (the ones who are allowed to wear clothes, that is), and process through our court system.<span>  </span>The expense is logically even greater for mentally ill prisoners, who typically return to jail innumerable times and require special accommodations and specially trained guards.<span>  </span>Certainly, there can be little or no savings to the taxpayers in classifying these people as criminals rather than patients.<span>  </span>Therefore, exactly whose interest is served by our present practice of jailing rather than hospitalizing our chronically mentally ill citizens – the insurance companies?<span>  </span>Certainly, the jailing of policyholders with disabilities who require continual medical and/or psychiatric care must save insurance companies a good deal of money, but how is it cheaper for the state?<span>  </span>I only hope that in our zeal to have more money to appropriate for advancing democracy abroad, we never resort to the very cheapest alternative – euthanasia.<span>  </span>When it comes to human rights, let us rescue our own helpless and needy first and foremost.</font></span><span style="font-size:8pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span><span style="font-size:8pt;"><strong><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman">I would like to see a three-day limit placed on the amount of time that persons with a diagnosed mental impairments can remain incarcerated while awaiting trial.<span>  </span>America should construct or reconstruct hospitals for the speedy transfer of such detainees, where they should remain under psychiatric care until making bail, standing trial, or longer if so determined by their doctors.<span>  </span>If our great country has the money to fight for the humane treatment of people in other countries, let us expend the necessary funds to secure humane treatment for our own citizens who are mentally disabled.<span>  </span>If this happens, Senator, if you will introduce and fight for such legislation, then poor Larry’s isolation, suffering, and death in jail would not be in vain.<span>  </span>Please consider making the humane treatment of America’s mentally ill citizens one of your re‑election platforms.</font></span></strong><span style="font-size:8pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></span><span style="font-size:8pt;"> </span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman">Thank you for your kind attention to my letter, and in advance, thank you for your assistance.<span>  </span>Moreover, I thank God for my right to freedom of speech without fear of reprisal, the right to petition my government for a redress of grievances, and I thank Him highly for placing righteous men and women in positions of leadership and power in America.<span>  </span>I will be standing by, hopeful of your intervention in the shameful denial of information and reconciliation concerning my sick brother’s jail death.<span>  </span>I will be watching for new legislation to be introduced in Washington to alleviate the suffering of our mentally ill citizens and their families.</font></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman">Please feel free to contact me at my home number above or my work number during regular business hours:<span>  </span>________.<span>  </span>If your published avenue for electronic contact is a web form rather than a regular e‑mail box, please note that I may not be able to attach any substantiating documentation to this correspondence.<span>  </span>However, you will receive same with delivery of your hardcopy of this letter by the U. S. Mail.<span>  </span>Furthermore, I hereby authorize you to conduct whatever investigation you deem necessary to substantiate the facts presented to you herein.</font></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman">Sincerely,</font></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman">/s/</font></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman">Mary L. Neal</font></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"> </font></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman">/mln<br />
</font></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman">Attachments</font></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><font face="Times New Roman">cc:<span>  </span>Web</font></span></span></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;">Readers, won&#8217;t you help?  Write to your elected officials and tell them that you do not consider mental illness to be a crime, and express concern about our nation&#8217;s present practice of jailing rather than hospitalizing our sick citizens.  Have you ever heard of anyone hanging himself with foam?  Insist that the mentally ill inmates in your hometowns are given at least a foam mattress pad while they suffer in jail.  Together we can make a difference for these &#8220;the least of them.&#8221;  Thank you for their sakes.</span></span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;"></span></p>
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