Involuntary Commitment Causes Another Tragic Death, Rest In Peace Janella Williams

http://socialworknc.blogspot.com/2008/03/part-five-of-n-series-on-mental-health.html
“On Feb. 16, 2006, she dialed 911 and pleaded with the dispatcher for help, saying someone was after her. She was taken to Pitt County Memorial Hospital, where a doctor signed a petition to involuntarily commit her to Cherry Hospital — the designated state psychiatric hospital for a region that includes 33 eastern counties.”
“About 5:45 a.m., four people carried Williams into a room where she was strapped to a table and injected with a powerful tranquilizer and other medications. When the drugs failed to calm her, the records show she was forcibly medicated again.

About 8:40 a.m., Williams’ medical records say she was still in restraints when a staff member checked on her and found she was no longer breathing and had no pulse. She was rushed by ambulance to Wayne Memorial Hospital, where she was declared dead.”

“She was injected with Thorazine, a powerful antipsychotic drug not listed in her medical records among the medications she was prescribed by a doctor.

Though Williams had become suddenly still, hospital staffers apparently were not concerned. A nurse told investigators the staff thought Williams was “playing possum.”

Notes in her medical records describe her condition as “quiet” and “resting”
for nearly an hour. Her medical condition was not evaluated by a nurse, as required. Though no longer conscious, she was not released from the straps.

It was nearly three hours after she was first placed in restraints, about 8:40 a.m., when the health-care technician who was supposed to be observing Williams checked on her and realized she was no longer breathing.”