My husband Merle has recently experienced some major, rather consequential setbacks in regard to his mental health that have been devastating not only his life, but others—both in his family and in the public. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts to get his treatment in order both from doctors and through therapy leading up to the reasons we are asking for contributions to this GoFundMe, Merle ultimately lost touch with himself and with the world around him. He was doing the work to take care of himself. But sometimes things just go wonky. When someone is experiencing this kind of medical emergency, they may do certain things out of character and not consistent with their values, including breaking the law and harming others. Merle has found himself in that situation, and needs our help. He is currently being held in the Benton County jail here in Northwest Arkansas facing charges we hope will ultimately be dropped because of his state of mind at the time. Sadly, the care he needs is out of reach in jail, and he at times has to be placed away from the general inmate population. This is the opposite of the best case scenario. We’d like to get him home, which means we can continue vital treatment to get him as well as possible so we can make the best decisions together regarding his case and put him on the road to recovery. His bond for release before his court appearances is currently $10,000. All donations will go to that first, and any remaining funds will go toward necessary legal expenses. We simply can’t afford this on our own and have limited resources for collateral toward bond. And Merle remaining in custody only makes matters far worse than they could be. Thank you for considering a donation. Your kindness will never be forgotten.