From the Womb to the Tomb

About the Book

An in-depth book about twenty-six-year-old Tony Lester’s preventable suicide and how he struggled to be recognized as a special needs person from the time he was arrested to the time he died. Real case documentation that has been validated by internal reports and inspections. This book will make you think about the role the criminal justice system plays with those seriously mentally ill and experiencing coping and functional difficulties. No political slandering here; just the facts as they were reported by KPNX investigative reporter Wendy Halloran and myself and how the family sought help in exposing the wrongful death of their son, nephew, leaving behind a young girl left without her father ever coming home to her. This book comprehensively covers the police report, the rule 11 procedures, and the investigation into his death. Also included are excerpts from the ACLU findings and how they applied to Tony’s personal crises and how his needs were downplayed due to cultural beliefs inmates are manipulators and always have a motive, thus they are liars and unworthy of trust or care for their problems. Based on the same dynamics found by the ACLU experts, this reveals the shoddy work of the state’s medical and psychiatric care standards applied in ad hoc conditions because of lack of commitment, resources, staffing, and training. Tony experienced the perfect storm when he was incarcerated and died in less than four months of doing time. An exclusive peek at a crisis situation still simmering inside the department of corrections systems that has failed him and thousands of others. It shows how his treatment needs were ignored as well as his pleas unheeded resulting in his death and how they compare to today’s findings still broken and still not fixed. This book is an in-depth detailed layout of the culture, the practices, the deliberate indifferences toward the mentally ill and how mentally ill persons are victimized and criminalized by political and criminal justice approaches and dynamics toward the seriously ill persons and how they must deal with the stigmas and discrimination of being a mentally ill person inside Arizona prisons. Dynamics include sociopolitical ramifications for being incarcerated, suicide watch culture, adequate care and treatment, security attitudes toward these special needs persons, and much more. Real case scenarios listed from the ACLU class action lawsuit that resembles or duplicates Tony’s plight, frustration, and situations that ended his life. This book illustrates shoddy death investigations, marginalized attitudes about human values in prison and other cultural influences that dictate how prisons are run, prisoners are mistreated and even some darkness on solitary confinement in the detention units and max custody facilities. A real wakeup call for many who have family members in prison and others wanting to change prison conditions. Included are the family’s frustrations with an agency which boasts the best defense of keeping secrets behind closed doors and the struggle KPNX and Wendy Halloran went through to get the secret video. All in all, it is an in-depth account of how a wrongful death leaves people devastated and asking the most frequent question: why? When you read this book you will see the root of causes. After you read this book, you will understand the agony and despair a mentally ill person endures when they are labeled, ignored, or ridiculed by the system that is supposedly protect them.

About the Author

Carl Toersbijns (retired) has worked in corrections for over twenty-five years. He held positions of a correctional officer I, II, III (captain), chief of security for a mental health treatment center, program director, associate warden, deputy warden of administration and operation in both the New Mexico and Arizona Department of Corrections. He is an experienced prison professional and specializes in consulting and developing strategic plans for sound correctional practices, mental health treatment, security threat groups, and training and staff development. Carl is currently resident in Riverside County, California, but calls Mesa, Arizona, home. As an author, Carl has published three books in the Wasted Honor Trilogy that includes Wasted Honor I, Wasted Honor II, Wasted Honor / Gorilla Justice as well as written semiprofessional correctional blogs on Corrections.Com and guest writer for Yahoo. These books are insightful references to prison management procedures, practices, politics, and cultural diversity issues related to staff-inmate relationships and administrative decision making. He currently serves as a vice president of Law Enforcement Officers Advocacy Council and also serves on the advisory board of David’s Hope Inc. Carl’s prison philosophy is all about the safety of the public, staff, and inmates. “I believe my strongest quality is that I create strategies that are practical, functional, and cost effective.” Experience / consultant / advocacy and prison reforms 2005–2014 Prepared, created and provided written summaries or narratives of case by case situations and made assessments accordingly to rule of law, policies, and procedures as well as correctional best practices. In conjunction with David’s Hope, a mental health advocate, I drafted operational standards and procedures for the seriously mentally ill from intake to housing to operational concerns leading to treatment, compliance with medication, multidisciplinary team decisions, housing, individual treatment plans, incentives, self-studies, and stabilization / therapeutic environmental conditions. Arizona Department of Corrections June 2005–April 2010 Facilitated a safe and secure prison environment on behalf of the complex warden and carried out duties and responsibilities assigned and identified according to policy and procedures, administrative directives, and routine and emergency operational issues based on the main focus of public safety, staff safety, and an orderly prison environment. Employed with the Arizona Department of Corrections Strength in investigations, report writing, interviews and interrogations, internal affairs and employee misconduct reviews. Loss control assessments. Develop lesson plans, instructor for instructor trainer. Strong computer skills and administrative skills to perform special staff safety projects with deadlines and citations or references. New Mexico Corrections Department Deputy Warden Operations September 1985–May 2005 Contributed to the overall success of a sound correctional team that operated an adult men prison according to rule of law, policies, and procedures and best practices developed by accreditation and compliance standards. Organizations: Arizona Gang Investigators Association Associate, member since April 2014 Present additional organizations LEOAC vice president Yahoo Associated Content writer David’s Hope Inc. volunteer advisory board Correctional Officers Brotherhood (Facebook) administrator Corrections.Com writer. Volunteer experience and causes sentencing reforms. David’s Hope Inc. October 2011–January 2013 Civil Rights and Social Action Worked on community related topics involving the seriously mentally ill persons in our community and the criminal justice system in areas of sentencing, programing, adjustment, and treatment opportunities. Skills-based volunteering (pro Bono consulting) Causes Carl cares about: —human rights —animal welfare —children —civil rights and social action