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Solitary Confinement in Georgia Prisons is “Draconian”: Confinement in a Prison Shower is Immoral and Unconscionable

  Last week, Judge Marc Treadwell, United States District Court Judge for the Middle District of Georgia, held several officers of the Georgia Department of Corrections in contempt of court for failing to correct numerous violations of the Federal and Constitutional rights of Georgia inmates who are housed in solitary…

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Means Restriction for Suicide Attempts Saves Lives

As many of you know, since 2012 when I became President of the State Bar of Georgia and after a dear friend of mine, who was a Past President of the State Bar, killed himself, I made suicide prevention for Georgia Lawyers one of my causes to which I devoted…

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High Time for Georgia’s Antiquated, Outdated “Impact Rule” To Be Scrapped

A recent opinion by the The Georgia Court of Appeals, our Intermediate Appellate Court in Georgia, regarding Georgia’s obsolete “impact rule” certainly caused an impact, and not a good one.  In Holt v. Rickman, A23A0612, 2023 WL 3858619 (Ga. Ct. App. June 7, 2023) an apartment guest brought action against…

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988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline Marks One Year Anniversary

Many of you know that I often write about suicide prevention. I hope you have read my latest blog on the Crosland Chroma Suicide Means Prevention art installation on top of the Georgia Institute of Technology library. Also, when the 988 Suicide Prevention and Crisis Lifeline was introduced, I wrote…

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Reduce Suicide With Means Restrictions: The Crosland Chroma Project at Georgia Tech

This is my son, Chaz. He is an artist and an architect and I am very proud of him.  As an artist he goes by chastainbernard. The colorful panels behind him were created by artist/architect Tristan al-Haddad who owns the studio Formations. Chaz works with Tristan now and he also…

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Virginia Appellate Opinion on Drug Overdose Amnesty Shockingly Defeats the Whole Point of the Law

I don’t often write about appellate opinions from appellate courts of states other than Georgia, but as I was reading some recent appellate opinions, the Virginia case of Morris v. Commonwealth of Virginia, No. 1194-21-2 (VA Ct. App. May 9, 2023) and not for good reasons.  Morris involves Virginia’s overdose…

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Mental Health Emergency? Considering Suicide? Call 988

Ever since I began the Georgia State Bar’s Suicide Prevention Program back in 2012 when I was President of the State Bar of Georgia, I have been advocating for the need for more mental health services provided during an emergency.  For longest time, all U.S. citizens have had available to…

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How to Save a Life~1-800-273-8255

I read with great interest a recent report from the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline that showed a reduction in suicides attributable largely to a song by music artist Logic. That song’s title is “1-800-273-8255,” the hotline number for the suicide prevention lifeline. As a result of this song, number…

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The Alarming, Inexcusable State of Mental Health Care in State Prisons

As I write this, many of the headlines in the news are about the so-called “shocking” suicide of alleged child sex trafficker, Jeffrey Epstein, who, allegedly, hanged himself while incarcerated in a Federal New York prison.  What is so shocking? The only thing shocking to me about this event is…

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Keeping Mental Health of Attorneys on Your Mind

Friends: Many of you know that during my presidency of the State Bar of Georgia in 2012-2013, I  made mental health of attorneys, and their family members, a primary concern. I have taken every opportunity presented to make us more aware of the stresses that attorneys face just in their…

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