Mark Luttrell responded to an early calling to public service, as many civic-minded citizens have done before him; but few have followed the calling to a level where their efforts affect the lives of so many others.
His 22 years with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, two terms as Shelby County sheriff and two terms (and counting) as mayor of Shelby County have given him unique insights into the mental health problems that land many in prison — as well as the challenges and responsibilities of improving the health and well-being of Shelby County citizens.
Initially a schoolteacher with a BA from Union University, he pursued a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Memphis after a stint in the military. During graduate school, he began working at the Shelby County Penal Farm and began considering a career in corrections.
“I’ve always thought that the criminal mind was a fascinating study," he said. "This gave me an opportunity to deal with the issues of crime and try to understand its nature and its causal effects — and, in the process, start developing what I thought would be creative approaches to dealing with the problems of crime."
How much of criminal behavior is rooted in mental illness — for example, the increasingly common mass shootings?
“Some of it certainly has to be attributed to mental health,” he said, “but I think we’ve got some people in our society that are just extremely anti-social — and whether that classifies as a mental health condition or a socialization condition, the more frequently it happens, you start to see the copycat effect.
“There’s a cry for help there,” he said, and, for some, a frustration with how life has treated them. “It’s a sad state of affairs when a teenager sees that the only thing in their future is death.”
An April 2014 survey showed there were 10 times more people with serious mental health illnesses in prisons than in state hospitals.
Luttrell confirms that many prison inmates have mental health issues that should be dealt with in better places. “The paradox is that some of the larger mental health facilities I have found are in jails and prisons," he said. "It’s a sad commentary on society, that we’re dealing with the mentally ill by putting them in jail — and then expecting that we’re going to profoundly improve their mental health.”
Consequently he has focused on the need to assess the mental and physical condition of people coming into the criminal justice system, and he recently established a mental health court in Shelby County for that purpose. Perpetrators must still be held accountable for criminal behavior, but Luttrell feels the impact of mental health issues on that behavior should be dealt with first.
The court relies on partnerships with mental health professionals, who help develop solutions for proper care and rehabilitation for those offenders who are, in a sense, victimized by their own condition.
“We’re seeing more and more movement across the United States toward specialty courts,” Luttrell said. “The earliest were the drug courts, because of the huge number of people in our jails and prisons that are there for drug violations or offenses.
“Whether it’s mental illness, drug or alcohol addiction, we have got to do a better job of identifying that so that our prisons can be truly a holding place for those people who are just downright mean.”
Luttrell is passionate about the issues of mental health and better management of prison populations through aggressive programs that deal with mental health.
“That’s going to have such a profound impact, both on an individual scale and from a cost perspective," he said. "It’s terribly expensive to run a prison – and if you can separate out people who can be dealt with more effectively and at a lower cost, then you’re winning in two or three ways.”
In 2013, there were 343 adult mental health courts operating in 43 states; studies consistently showed them to be effective in reducing recidivism and improving clinical and quality of life outcomes. The most common feature of mental illnesses seen in the courts was co-occurring substance abuse disorder.
Annually, more than 2,700 drug courts nationwide serve over 136,000 people with effective results, according to the National Association of Drug Court Professionals. Independent researchers conclude that drug courts reduce crime and return financial benefits at several times the initial investment — some cutting crime rates in half and returning $27 to their communities for every $1 invested.
The mayor also spearheaded the Healthy Shelby program several years ago to focus on better health, better care and lower costs as strategies for economic vitality for the community. The first of its kind in Tennessee, the program streamlines a more effective connection between a consortium of the area’s top medical resources and people who need their services.
“We need to jointly develop strategic approaches to move the needle on issues like childhood obesity, hypertension, youth illnesses, teenage pregnancy, obesity and diabetes," he said.
He emphasizes public awareness and education as keys to motivating people to take responsibility for healthy lifestyle changes. “Growing our way out of this problem starts with a good, viable education program,” he said.
He’s proud of the strides he has made in addressing both mental and physical health problems in the community, and urges healthcare providers to encourage further progress by also examining each patient’s emotional well-being.
“It’s that emotional side that’s going to drive the individual to change their lifestyle and behavior to make it more health-conscious," he said. "I’d love to see doctors help a little bit more in the socialization of our population — to promote healthcare.”
Luttrell is married, with three children and six grandchildren; a hiker and biker, he continues to improve a habitually healthy lifestyle by doing something every day that pushes him physically -- “I’m looking forward to the future and want to make sure that I’m healthy enough to enjoy it.”
RELATED LINKS:
Shelby County, www.shelbycountytn.gov
National Association of Drug Court Professionals, www.nadcp.org
Healthy Shelby, www.healthyshelbycounty.org.