The media did not kill former County Attorney Allister Adel, but we did treat her poorly

The people who are the least sympathetic to the death of former Maricopa County Attorney Allister Adel, the people who care less for the loss of this young wife and mother, the people with no real empathy for the suffering of her family and close friends, are those now trying to blame the media for her death.

It’s a way of trading any measure of humanity, dignity or compassion in order to score a few points with some creepy constituency on Twitter.

It’s grotesque.

And sad.

And wrong.

The media did not kill Allister Adel.

We did, however, treat her poorly. Even unfairly. At least if we believe what we say we believe about conditions like alcohol addiction and mental illness – that they are, first and foremost, illnesses. If so, then we should start treating them like any other illness.

Either it's an illness or it's not

Back in September, when concerns about Adel’s performance in office became public, she took some time off to get treatment and issued a statement saying, “After a very difficult year for me medically, professionally and personally, I have made the decision to seek treatment for anxiety and to address unhealthy coping behaviors including an eating disorder and alcohol use.”

A number of people immediately called for her resignation.

I wrote at the time that her critics should just … shut … up.

I said:

Adel is taking steps to deal with the challenges she is facing. She deserves a chance to do that, to see how things go, to see how she feels and to evaluate how she recovers, to determine what would be the best next step she should take, both personally and professionally.

If this was something besides a mental health issue and Adel was going into the hospital for heart surgery or cancer treatment or a kidney transplant, we wouldn’t even be having this discussion.

Because we shouldn’t.

Not if mental illness is illness.

Adel's difficulties persisted after her return

Adel came back from treatment but her difficulties persisted. And when the troubles inside the county attorney’s office bubbled to the surface the media covered them. That’s our job. Our responsibility.

There was no ignoring a letter sent by five division chiefs of the prosecutor’s office to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors and the State Bar of Arizona questioning Adel’s actions and her ability to lead.

Likewise, there was no way to ignore Adel’s seemingly defiant response, defending her ability to do the work and telling her associates to “stick it out or resign.”

Then there were the revelations about the 180 criminal cases that were not prosecuted under Adel’s watch – another thing that could not be ignored by the media. And that brought on another round of people calling for her resignation.

Would we have been so harsh if it was cancer?

Even Gov. Doug Ducey weighed in, saying “I think leaders should take accountability for their actions and not blame people on their team. My concern is really for the victims of these crimes, and for the accountability and competence of the office, and that’s where the opportunity and the fix lies.”

Adel resigned in March.

It was the right thing to do.

But there is no denying she would have been treated less harshly – by everyone, the media included – if the reason for her poor performance and her decision to resign was linked to a heart condition or cancer.

That’s on us.

Because if we believe what we say about afflictions like mental illness and alcohol addiction – that they are, first and foremost, illnesses – then we should start treating them like any other illness.

Reach Montini at ed.montini@arizonarepublic.com.

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