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Telegraph Staff Writer
A Bibb County jury ruled Thursday that Central State Hospital's negligence contributed to a former patient's death in 2001, but awarded the patient's parents a small fraction of what their lawsuit had sought.
The superior court jury granted Strange's parents $18,078 for their son's medical expenses and funeral, but nothing for the value of his life and nothing for his pain and suffering. The plaintiffs' lawyer had asked $1.9 million for the value of his life.
Strange, 21, was shot and killed in Nov. 16, 2001, when he pointed a gun at Macon police, just two days after he was released from the state psychiatric hospital in Milledgeville. Police said Strange took a handgun from an acquaintance's car, then led police on a rambling foot-chase up Vineville Avenue. During the episode he fired several shots at random and pointed the gun at his own head.
When Strange pointed the gun at the police, an officer shot and killed him. Although his gun was empty by that point, police said they had no way of knowing it. A coroner's jury ruled it a justified shooting.
Strange's mother, Theresa Hamilton, did not fault the police but she did object to the way the state mental health system treated her son.
"I believe he could have been helped," she said in a 2002 interview.
Strange had been treated at Central State and the Medical Center of Central Georgia several times as a teen and young adult. His family said he often talked of suicide. He also abused alcohol and several illegal drugs.
During the week before the shooting incident, Strange was admitted again to Central State for treatment of suicidal depression and substance abuse.
Hamilton and her former husband, Randy Strange, charged in their suit that the state hospital and Dr. Mike Whang were negligent in failing to establish an adequate treatment program, discharging Justin Strange prematurely and prescribing the tranquilizer Ativan, which Strange was prone to abuse.
During three days of testimony, witnesses outlined how the state mental health system is now geared toward keeping people only for a short time in hospitals like Central State -- just long enough to stabilize them on medication. For follow-up treatment they are referred to community mental health centers such as River Edge in Macon. But nothing compels a person like Justin Strange to accept that treatment.
A Bibb County jury ruled Thursday that Central State Hospital's negligence contributed to a former patient's death in 2001, but awarded the patient's parents a small fraction of what their lawsuit had sought.
The superior court jury granted Strange's parents $18,078 for their son's medical expenses and funeral, but nothing for the value of his life and nothing for his pain and suffering. The plaintiffs' lawyer had asked $1.9 million for the value of his life.
Strange, 21, was shot and killed in Nov. 16, 2001, when he pointed a gun at Macon police, just two days after he was released from the state psychiatric hospital in Milledgeville. Police said Strange took a handgun from an acquaintance's car, then led police on a rambling foot-chase up Vineville Avenue. During the episode he fired several shots at random and pointed the gun at his own head.
When Strange pointed the gun at the police, an officer shot and killed him. Although his gun was empty by that point, police said they had no way of knowing it. A coroner's jury ruled it a justified shooting.
Strange's mother, Theresa Hamilton, did not fault the police but she did object to the way the state mental health system treated her son.
"I believe he could have been helped," she said in a 2002 interview.
Strange had been treated at Central State and the Medical Center of Central Georgia several times as a teen and young adult. His family said he often talked of suicide. He also abused alcohol and several illegal drugs.
During the week before the shooting incident, Strange was admitted again to Central State for treatment of suicidal depression and substance abuse.
Hamilton and her former husband, Randy Strange, charged in their suit that the state hospital and Dr. Mike Whang were negligent in failing to establish an adequate treatment program, discharging Justin Strange prematurely and prescribing the tranquilizer Ativan, which Strange was prone to abuse.
During three days of testimony, witnesses outlined how the state mental health system is now geared toward keeping people only for a short time in hospitals like Central State -- just long enough to stabilize them on medication. For follow-up treatment they are referred to community mental health centers such as River Edge in Macon. But nothing compels a person like Justin Strange to accept that treatment.
