Ricky Wyatt Day

WHEREAS, the Wyatt vs. Stickney case was filed in October 1970 on behalf of Mr. Ricky Wyatt, then a resident at Bryce Hospital in Tuscaloosa, Alabama; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Wyatt courageously endured substandard conditions of habilitation and care that was indicative of the inhumane and overcrowded environment common in state institutions at that time; and

WHEREAS, the case was granted class-action status and became nationally emblematic of the struggle for the civil rights of institutionalized persons; and

 WHEREAS, Mr. Wyatt was misunderstood and ridiculed by many of his fellow residents at Bryce for his participation in the lawsuit; and

 

WHEREAS, in his 1971 and 1972 rulings, Judge Frank M. Johnson, Jr., established standards mandating that persons involuntarily committed to mental health institutions had a constitutional right to personalized treatment including freedom from unwarranted seclusion and restraint, with adequate staff, in a safe and dignified environment; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Wyatt’s perseverance and the persistence of other parties in the class-action suit fostered many of the reforms that transformed the mental health system in Alabama and the nation over the 33-year duration of the lawsuit; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Wyatt, following his discharge from the hospital, developed a career as a painter and lived independently in the community, thereby personifying the ultimate mission and purpose of mental health treatment; and

WHEREAS, sadly Ricky Wyatt passed away on November 1, 2011; and

WHEREAS, March 12 represents the 41st anniversary of Judge Johnson’s landmark ruling establishing the right to minimum standards of care:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Robert Bentley, Governor of Alabama, do hereby proclaim March 12, 2012, as

Ricky Wyatt Day

in the state of Alabama, and remember the significant role he played in the landmark ruling and the historic transformation of the Alabama mental health system.

Given Under My Hand and the Great Seal of the Office of the Governor at the State Capitol in the City of Montgomery on the 21st day of March 2012.

      

Governor Robert Bentley