Fair was a 17-year-old North Portlander when he was arrested for his role in an armed robbery of a medical marijuana user last year—his acceptance of a plea deal this week closes the case officially. But the family is still left with its most important questions unanswered. When Fair had a mental health crisis upon entering custody, he wound up being Tasered multiple times and handcuffed to a hospital bed at OHSU for 20 days with no contact with his family besides a daily phone call. He was eventually diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
The scary thing is that, in Fair's case, the justice system worked that way it was legally supposed to. A 1,100-page inquiry into Fair's treatment found no criminal wrongdoing. Everyone from the jailers to the hospital staff followed legal protocol. The fact that emerges from Fair's case is that the legal protocol is horrifying and inhumane. When a 17-year-old has a mental breakdown in custody, there must be a better way to treat them than shackles, Tasers, and cutting off family contact. A big part of this has to do with the dismantling of our mental health system—the largest providers of mental healthcare in the state are our jails and prisons. Fair's case shows exactly why that's a problem.
