Man kills self days after mental health center refuses treatment

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Posted 9:29PM on Friday, May 31, 2002

ROBERTA - A Crawford County man killed himself days after he threatened suicide and was not admitted to a hospital where sheriff's deputies had taken him at the request of concerned family members. Charles F. Harris, 60, was found Thursday near his mother's home in Musella with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. A relative called Crawford County sheriff's deputies Saturday night after Harris threatened to kill himself. Deputies took him to Houston Medical Center in Warner Robins, where an emergency room doctor and a mental health professional from Phoenix Center Behavioral Health Services examined him, said Maj. Harold Dickey of the Crawford County Sheriff's Department. Harris was adamant he did not want to harm himself and did not want to be committed to the hospital, said Ken Marsh, director of adult services at the Phoenix Center. The doctor and Phoenix employees agreed that Harris did not require hospitalization and arranged for him to pursue counseling later, he said. ``Apparently, there was insufficient clinical need for an involuntary hospital commission,'' Marsh said. ``The doctor would have had to make the decision to put the patient into the hospital against his will.'' Deputies then drove Harris back home. He was reported missing Tuesday after he told relatives he was going outside to smoke a cigarette Monday night and didn't return. His body was found by a search party in a wooded area about 200 yards from the house he shared with his mother. Marsh said Phoenix Center officials are investigating the circumstances related to Harris' death. Phoenix employees cannot authorize people to be committed, he said. ``We are there to consult with the doctor but we do not have the legal authority to make an involuntary commission,'' Marsh said. Doctors usually follow the advice of the mental health professional on whether to admit a potentially suicidal person, hospital spokeswoman Mary Jane Kinnas said. ``Obviously, I think he should have been admitted or else he might not have done what he did,'' Dickey said. ``But I'm not an expert, so I don't really know.'' Suicide prevention officials said Harris' death highlights the need for better evaluation of potential suicide victims. Last week, the Georgia Suicide Prevention Advocacy Network and Georgia Department of Human Resources announced a new state Suicide Prevention Plan to increase prevention of suicides and suicidal behavior. About 850 Georgians kill themselves each year, with more than 17,000 attempts to do so, the group said.