The ethical and moral inconsistency of Disability Rights New Mexico is legendary. Today, on the third anniversary of the suicide of my friend – who died alone at home, isolated by forced lockdown, suffering crippling depression made only worse by this forced lockdown – on this day I recall Disability Rights New Mexico laser focused on getting criminals – and those charged with crimes – released from New Mexico detention centers because it was cruel to keep a criminal – and those charged with crimes – locked up. DRNM felt their pandemic lockdown civil rights pet project was just and humane.

Disability Rights New Mexico publicly fought to have inmates released, even going so far as to involve the mediq, while wilfully ignoring suicidal mental health peers imprisoned alone by Governor Lujan Grisham’s mandates, forced “shelter in place” away from humankind.

Many suicidal mental health peers died at home, alone, sheltering in place.

Where was Disability Rights New Mexico fighting for the release of mental health peers? I wrote DRNM so many letters instructing these wayward lawyers of the immediate danger of depressed peers forced into isolation. And what I instructed isn’t an unknown risk and danger. Nearly everyone in behavioral health – peers, families, providers, police, politicians, wayward lawyers – knows the worst thing for a suicidal peer is isolation. Where was DRNM? Fighting to get criminals – and those charged with crimes – released because it’s cruel to keep people locked up.

Being locked up violated their civil rights.

And Disability Rights New Mexico was successful in getting criminals – and those charged with crimes – released while peers remained imprisoned by mandate.

Isn’t is a cruel violation of civil rights imprisoning peers by executive mandate? Isn’t the cruelty compounded by the fact none of these peers committed a crime or were arrested on suspicion of committing a crime?

Facetiously and out of frustration I started advising peers to commit crimes so they could also be released from their forced mandated prisons. Peers were forced to stay home to avoid dying from COVID-19. It seems sheltering in place didn’t keep my friend alive at all. You see, there was more than one way to die from the virus, without ever being infected by the virus.

We were forced to shutter our STS in-person support groups. When I first attended an in-person peer support group in October of 2010, it is fact having the group there week after week gave me something to live for. Many peers I know have a near identical story.

And when we were ordered to shut down the groups, suicidal peers forced into isolation, these peers died as a result.

The penetrating guilt I feel for allowing myself to bullied into keeping our STS in-person peer support groups closed is something I’ll endeavor towards reaching self-forgiveness. Today is the anniversary of my friend’s suicide directly caused by forced lockdown and forced isolation. As for Disability Rights New Mexico, I won’t spend any time and effort forgiving these wayward lawyers.

I’ll be getting much more vocal about this inhumanity with hopes DRNM lawyers sue me to censor, to forbid me sharing the truth. Raw data from government health departments reveal this truth in greatly increased suicide (and overdose) rates. My friend deserves his story to be known and a courtroom is a good place to start.