Fernando Clark died in the Montgomery County Jail while waiting for psychiatric treatment. He was one of many in Alabama stuck on a waitlist for mental health facilities, despite a 2018 agreement to address delays. The waitlist for the state's only secure psychiatric facility is now almost five times longer than when the agreement was made. Men can wait years for placement, reflecting a national trend where demand for treatment exceeds available beds. In Alabama, this means people like Clark, charged with minor crimes, often wait longer for a bed than if they had pled guilty.
