Activists march in protest over treatment of patients at state's psychiatric unit

CONCORD — Human rights activists marched for more than two miles Thursday to protest the treatment of those committed to the Secure Psychiatric Unit within the walls of New Hampshire State Prison.

The plight of Andrew Butler, a 21-year-old student athlete from Hollis, has served as a rallying cry for change as state lawmakers on Wednesday gave final approval to legislation requiring the SPU be accredited as a behavioral health facility.

Butler’s father, Dave, spoke at the outset of this Pilgrimage for Dignity, Compassion and Justice that stepped off from the prison and ended at U.S. District Court, the site of a structuring conference Thursday on Butler’s court petition to be released from the SPU.

Butler was first committed last fall to New Hampshire Hospital, the state’s psychiatric hospital, and then was transferred to the SPU.

Read more: http://www.unionleader.com/social-issues/Activists-march-in-protest-over-treatment-of-patients-at-states-psychiatric-unit-05252018