Regardless of where Lindsay Clancy ends up, the demand for answers cannot end at the courthouse door. The behavioral health providers who treated her must face a truly independent investigation, not a review by professional boards drawn from the very industry they are supposed to police. A Spotlight on America investigation documented concerns about physician-dominated medical boards and the willingness of doctors to discipline their peers.

The real question is whether the public will demand legislation that forces reform on the billion-dollar behavioral health industry, starting with banning the prescribing of psychiatric drugs through telehealth. Asking, “Are you suicidal, or do you want to harm yourself or others?” is not enough. At the very least, require in-person examinations.  Those visits should include appropriate blood work and full medical evaluation, meaningful informed consent, and a clear, individualized plan for safely discontinuing psychiatric drugs, not indefinite prescribing without an exit strategy.

A verdict on Clancy must not become an excuse to leave the treatment system untouched.

And what will the human rights outcome be for the public? In murders, assassinations, and murder-suicides involving families, will relevant mental health treatment records be released so the public can see what drugs were prescribed, what warnings were documented, and whether treatment failed?

The public deserves answers, not another tragedy turned into a political argument for pouring more money into the behavioral health industry before its own role has been independently examined. When behavioral health representatives enter the response to a tragedy, who ensures that they do not steer the narrative or influence the investigation in ways that shield their industry?

Will government relationships with that industry face independent scrutiny, including potential conflicts of interest and whether oversight protects the public or institutions? The public deserves more than condolences, closed files, and unanswered questions. It deserves the truth and consequences wherever the evidence establishes responsibility.

The public has been taking an active role in demanding accountability. In Wyoming insiders defeated the AbleChild autopsy toxicology bill that was driven to the legislature by the public.   The demand for transparency becomes even more urgent when we examine Laramie County Coroner Rebecca Reid’s own words during her testimony before Wyoming’s Joint Labor, Health and Social Services Interim Committee.

Opposing expanded psychiatric-drug testing and reporting, Reid said that “mandating reporting without proper context risks misinterpretation of data and may inadvertently stigmatize mental health treatment.” She also stated: “If someone is taking their medication like they’re supposed to, ten to one they’re not gonna die by suicide.”

That is an astonishing reassurance to offer while opposing the collection of evidence that could test it. A coroner’s responsibility is to investigate deaths, not defend the reputation of mental health treatment. If Reid is confident in her claim, that is precisely why the blood should be tested. Collect the samples. Test for the drugs. Report the concentrations. Let the data speak for itself and independent investigators examine what it means. Concern about an industry’s image is no excuse for leaving potentially important evidence uncollected.

Wyoming has already seen its own devastating example of this failure. A mother who turned to the behavioral health industry for help ultimately died by suicide. Her case ended, but the questions surrounding the treatment system remain.

How many more families must endure unimaginable loss before meaningful reform is allowed to happen? The public has stepped forward, demanded transparency, and brought legislation to the table, only to see insiders stand in the way. This cannot continue. The behavioral health industry cannot be permitted to police itself, and those entrusted with protecting the public cannot be allowed to obstruct the very accountability the public is demanding.