Justice Center Records Raise Questions

ALBANY, N.Y.  — The agency responsible for protecting those with special needs declined to investigate most of the nearly 1,400 deaths of developmentally disabled people in state care in the past two years, leaving the majority of investigations to the caretaker facilities themselves, according to newly released records.

An advocate who sought the documents' release under the state's open-records law said they indicate that the Justice Center, established more than two years ago by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to be the primary investigative agency for possible cases of abuse and neglect in state care, is simply not doing its job.

Mother Kills Self, Autistic Son, In Despair Over Debt, School Placement

What a terribly tragic story--our hearts go out to their family.


KENSINGTON, Md. -- Ben Barnhard finally had reason to be optimistic this summer: The 13-year-old shed more than 100 pounds at a rigorous weight-loss academy, a proud achievement for a boy who had endured classmates’ taunts about his obesity and who had sought solace in the quiet of his bedroom, with his pet black cat and the intricate origami designs he created.

But one month before school was to start for the special-needs teen, his mother, psychiatrist Margaret Jensvold, shot him in the head, then killed herself. Officers found their bodies on Aug. 2 in the bedrooms of their home in Kensington, Md., an upper-middle class Washington suburb. They also found a note.

“School — can’t deal with school system,” the letter began, Jensvold’s sister, Susan Slaughter, told The Associated Press.

And later: “Debt is bleeding me. Strangled by debt.”

Facility Supervisor Charged In Death Of Patient With Autism

NEW YORK -- The parents of Jawara Henry, 27, tearfully praised the Richmond County District Attorney's office for bringing charges against Erik Stanley, 37, of Middletown, N.J in Henry's death last year. The family also announced plans to file a civil lawsuit against the state-run institution where their autistic son died. Henry died while being subdued by workers at the South Beach Psychiatric Center on Staten Island.

Stanley surrendered to police Wednesday morning and was arraigned in State Supreme Court, St. George, on charges of criminally negligent homicide and endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person for Henry's death on Dec. 4, 2010. Stanley pleaded not guilty and was released on his own recognizance.

Family of Autistic Man who Died in Van Files Suit

PHILADELPHIA -- The father of a man with severe autism who died last year after his caretaker left him inside a van on a hot day has filed a civil suit against the Middletown residential center and a former employee.

Bryan Nevins, 20, of Long Island, NY, died a year ago this month after he was left inside a locked van parked at Woods Services for more than five hours on a day when temperatures outside reached 97 degrees. Nevins lived at Woods Services.