Lawsuit Filed Against State, Jail For Mentally Ill

(CBS4 News) MIAMI A local family has filed a federal lawsuit, citing our series “The Forgotten Floor” in hopes of forcing change for the mentally ill at the Miami-Dade County jail.

Mini Atwell is filing a lawsuit on behalf of her mentally ill son Benjamin who is being housed on the 9th floor of the Miami-Dade Pretrial Detention Center.

"I worry about him getting out of there alive," said Atwell.

Her youngest son, who she says was diagnosed as mentally challenged as a child and has admittedly been in and out of the criminal justice system for more than a decade, has been held in conditions she deems unbearable and illegal.

"I would like for him to be home,” she said. “If that cannot be facilitated at this point, put him in a facility where he has a bed where he is getting the medical care and attention that he needs. Treat him like what he is, a human being. He is a person, my son, Mini's son.”

Her attorney, Norm Kent is handling her case.

"There is no add-on that the state gets to kick you while you are down and treat you like dirt and make you subhuman," said Kent.

In behalf of Benjamin, and 29 other such men living on the 9th floor, Kent filed a class action complaint Thursday against the state in federal court. It targets the Department of Children and Family Services, the County Commission and the Department of Corrections.

"DCF hasn't done their job,” he said.

Kent cites conditions and concerns for the men of floor 9 as revealed in our series.

“Individuals that have been committed to state custody and should've been transferred weeks or months ago are still sitting there, and DCF hasn't done their job. They have a duty to come retrieve inmates such as Benjamin.”

“We have created an impossible situation and we are going to need federal court to sort it out.”

Meanwhile Mini Atwell continues to grieve for her son.

“They been forgotten inside of the pretrial Dade facility, but they are not forgotten in our hearts. That's somebody's son, somebody's uncle, whoever they are, there are people out here that love them.”