Carrie Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 [quote name='Sojourner' date='Oct 17 2005, 11:10 AM']That's all true. My friend Sam is a defense lawyer and he was telling me not too long ago about a client of his who's got touches of some sort of mental illness. Sam had a sweet deal worked out for the guy, but at the last minute the client freaked out in front of the judge and the deal went off. Now, the guy will have to be examined to find out whether he's competent to assist in his own defense. If he's found incompetent, he'll go to a state hospital and be medicated until such time as he's competent, and from there he'll go through the whole process again. And this is a misdemeanor drug charge. [right][snapback]761025[/snapback][/right] [/quote] Exactly. And if he's never found competent, then he stays there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sojourner Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 [quote name='Carrie' date='Oct 17 2005, 09:12 AM']Exactly. And if he's never found competent, then he stays there. [right][snapback]761027[/snapback][/right] [/quote] Right. Which I can't imagine is the healthiest alternative for him. I've been to the state hospital they'd send him too. Not a pretty place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 Most state mental hospitals are a worse fate than being sent to prison. The conditions are really bad in many of them. At least prison sentences are for a finite period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sojourner Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 Right. Sam was really frustrated with his client, because the guy blew the one chance he had to fly low through the system. The sad thing is that there's really no good alternatives for this guy, or people like him. They're really poor (Sam's a public defender) don't have health care coverage, probably have never been properly diagnosed, and for sure aren't getting the meds they need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
photosynthesis Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 [quote name='Carrie' date='Oct 17 2005, 10:20 AM']Most state mental hospitals are a worse fate than being sent to prison. The conditions are really bad in many of them. At least prison sentences are for a finite period. [right][snapback]761036[/snapback][/right] [/quote] ::shudder:: I don't even want to imagine a state mental hospital. whenever they're full, they have to put some of the criminally insane people on normal psych units. they need to stop doing that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 [quote name='photosynthesis' date='Oct 17 2005, 11:27 AM']::shudder:: I don't even want to imagine a state mental hospital. whenever they're full, they have to put some of the criminally insane people on normal psych units. they need to stop doing that. [right][snapback]761043[/snapback][/right] [/quote] You're right and they do this alot more than people would like to admit. Offenders are treated as second class citizens. Sadly, offenders with mental illness are treated even worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmotherofpirl Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 As are retarded adults. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sojourner Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 [quote name='cmotherofpirl' date='Oct 17 2005, 09:37 AM']As are retarded adults. [right][snapback]761053[/snapback][/right] [/quote] Too true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sojourner Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 One of my co-workers just wrote an article about juvenile offenders with mental health issues. I'll post a link to it after we publish on Wednesday. It's got some interesting info in it from the juvie perspective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
photosynthesis Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 [quote name='Carrie' date='Oct 17 2005, 10:36 AM']You're right and they do this alot more than people would like to admit. Offenders are treated as second class citizens. Sadly, offenders with mental illness are treated even worse. [right][snapback]761050[/snapback][/right] [/quote] I think in general people in the mental health industry treat the mentally ill as if they are criminals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sojourner Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 [quote name='photosynthesis' date='Oct 17 2005, 09:53 AM']I think in general people in the mental health industry treat the mentally ill as if they are criminals. [right][snapback]761073[/snapback][/right] [/quote] While I've never personally experienced the mental health industry, I know several very compassionate people who work in this area. One of my closest friends is an addictions counselor who deals with mentally ill people every day. While you may have had a bad experience, or several bad experiences, it's not always like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
photosynthesis Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 (edited) [quote name='Sojourner' date='Oct 17 2005, 11:11 AM']While I've never personally experienced the mental health industry, I know several very compassionate people who work in this area. One of my closest friends is an addictions counselor who deals with mentally ill people every day. While you may have had a bad experience, or several bad experiences, it's not always like this. [right][snapback]761105[/snapback][/right] [/quote] well, during the time i was on a psych unit, juvie was full so there were some teenagers that were on the unit that should have been somewhere else. one was on trial for poisoning his little brother, another admitted that he raped someone. they had to be about 16-18 years old. a bunch of people were on the unit because they tried to kill members of their family. no distinction was made between the real criminals and the innocent little kids. on the same unit, there were children as young as six who never did anything wrong. you have NO idea how scary it is being 12 years old from the suburbs, in an inner city psych ward (for writing poems about my own death), and meeting your new roommate, who is extremely homicidal and on the unit because she tried to kill her classmates. it's really freaking scary. Edited October 17, 2005 by photosynthesis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 [quote name='Sojourner' date='Oct 17 2005, 12:11 PM']I know several very compassionate people who work in this area. [right][snapback]761105[/snapback][/right] [/quote] *points to self* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sojourner Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 [quote name='photosynthesis' date='Oct 17 2005, 10:22 AM']well, during the time i was on a psych unit, juvie was full so there were some teenagers that were on the unit that should have been somewhere else. one was on trial for poisoning his little brother, another admitted that he raped someone. they had to be about 16-18 years old. a bunch of people were on the unit because they tried to kill members of their family. no distinction was made between the real criminals and the innocent little kids. on the same unit, there were children as young as six who never did anything wrong. you have NO idea how scary it is being 12 years old from the suburbs, in an inner city psych ward (for suicidal ideation), and meeting your new roommate, who is extremely homicidal and on the unit because she tried to kill her classmates. it's really freaking scary. [right][snapback]761128[/snapback][/right] [/quote] I'm sure it was a horrible experience, and it definitely highlights the problems we have with dealing with mental illnesses through the criminal justice system. I think much of the problems stem from the fact that there isn't adequate funding to provide for well-staffed, adequately sized facilities. It's a shameful thing that we as a society haven't done more to care for the most vulnerable among us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 [quote name='photosynthesis' date='Oct 17 2005, 12:22 PM']well, during the time i was on a psych unit, juvie was full so there were some teenagers that were on the unit that should have been somewhere else. one was on trial for poisoning his little brother, another admitted that he raped someone. they had to be about 16-18 years old. a bunch of people were on the unit because they tried to kill members of their family. no distinction was made between the real criminals and the innocent little kids. on the same unit, there were children as young as six who never did anything wrong. you have NO idea how scary it is being 12 years old from the suburbs, in an inner city psych ward (for suicidal ideation), and meeting your new roommate, who is extremely homicidal and on the unit because she tried to kill her classmates. it's really freaking scary. [right][snapback]761128[/snapback][/right] [/quote] It is scary and no one should ever have to go through a scary experience like that. Unfortunately because of money and over-crowding, some of these places aren't using methods that are in the best interest of their clients. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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