Ricky Wyatt, Lead Plaintiff in Important Class Action Lawsuit, Has Died

Ricky Wyatt, a 57-year-old Alabama man who was the lead plaintiff in a 1970 federal class-action lawsuit that helped improve conditions in state psychiatric institutions nationwide, died on November 1. Wyatt had been institutionalized at age 14 on the word of his legal guardian, an aunt, because he was a “hell-raiser” (as he later described himself). Despite having no mental health diagnosis, he was routinely dosed with Thorazine and other psychiatric medications, and lived in horrendous conditions in Bryce State Hospital in Tuscaloosa. The lawsuit, Wyatt v. Stickney, resulted in national guidelines called the Wyatt Standards; the standards called for a humane psychological and physical environment, qualified and sufficient staff, individualized treatment plans and minimum restriction of patient freedom.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/04/health/ricky-wyatt-57-dies-plaintiff-in-landmark-mental-care-suit.html
Reposted at http://www.darkestcloset.blogspot/