Jail and Prison Not the Right Ticket for Mentally Ill

Rita, I know what you're saying. Let me share a story w/ you that occurred back in 1995.
I had a neighbor, Toppan Chatterjee, that owned the apartment across the way from where I live. He was elderly & on meds.
I noticed something was going south when 1 day he asked me if I would check under his car for explosives then later found him arguing w/ the t.v. cable line behind the apartment complex.
Things only got worse & this included diucharging a loaded rifle through the floor, nearly hitting 1 of the tenanats below.
The police came, he was arrested, arraigned & let go back to his place.
Shortly afterwards he decided to start shooting a pellet rifle @ the apartment of some girls next door, the police again came & took him away. This time the lock up in jail was for a long time.
While in general population @ SB County Jail he made "friends" which he confided in w/ his situation. These so-called "friends" were those of a criminal, predatory nature & once they got out on bail or parole proceeded to storm his apartment, squatting there & destroying the place.
They knew the police could do nothing about their activities because Toppan believed the police were out to take his property & would therefore not file a trespassing report against these vermin.
The fiasco lasted for 2 YEARS! finally in 1997 he as released, passed away shortly after & the property went into probate, as his estranged family wanted nothing to do any of his affairs & was eventually auctioned off after kicking the squatters out.
I blame the current way of dealing w/ the problem of mental illness by the courts as a HUGE contributor to those awful 2 years EVERYBODY had to endure.
I'm glad to hear things have worked for your son, but there still is a lot more that needs to be done. Can't say what it is, but the work is there :) henry

Thanks for sharing your painful story with the public.

The legal system is a disaster for mentally ill people. So much time and money is wasted by our courts and correctional facilities.

The intersection where mental illness and the legal system collide is a treacherous place. In 1994, when I first became aware of my (then) twenty-seven year old son's serious psychiatric problems, I tried to find help for him. But several agencies in Humboldt County (including the local Veteran's Affairs office and the Department of Mental Health) told me that they could help only if he met the standards of the so-called 51-50 law. He had to be either: a threat to himself, a threat to others or gravely disabled. It was clear to me that he met all three of these requirements. He was angry and delusional and he owned an arsenal of guns. The weapons were of considerable interest to the local police chief. But even his hands were tied by the law. One month later my son murdered my cousin. Even though expert witnesses for both the prosecution and the defense agreed that he was mentally ill, he was given a 29-to-life prison sentence. Prior to the murder, he had never committed any crime in his life. He had served with honor for nearly nine years in the Navy Submarine Service. It took the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitations (CDCR) nearly a year to recognize and begin to address his mental illness. From the beginning, I have been a fierce advocate for my son, but he has been at the mercy of a failed system. Prison medical care is deplorable and "rehabilitation" is a myth. Properly medicated my son is charming and bright. Without it, he becomes delusional, hears menacing voices and cannot distinguish friend from foe. Over the years, he's attempted suicide several times. He's been beaten by other inmates and sadly, he's learned to respond with violence. At times he has chosen to stop taking his psych meds himself. Sometimes, the prison staff "forgets" to give them to him. (I suspect there may be a black market within the system for these "forgotten" drugs). And other times some new doctor decides to tinker a little. Every time my son is moved from one prison to another--which is the norm--his medication becomes an iffy proposition. After a recent string of serious suicide attempts, he's been put on mandatory medication for one year. This gives me some breathing room, but I know there will be many battles. My son has a long sentence and prison is not conducive to mental health.

I pray for your son, and I pray for you. What agony for you both, and for your entire family. I feel like crying.
I have emotional issues, ADD, panic disorder, and PTSD. I had a serious suicide attempt two weeks ago, (I even write the "note".) When I survived, my family (all but for my mother) have treated me as if I am nothing but an embarassment. My sister incites me to get me going again. I won't let her win. I call my case manager, and she never calls me back. That's the "system."
I am educated and articulate. I am grateful to be alive, and I know that there are only so many times I can attempt suicide before I will succeed. I do not want to die. I just want the pain to stop. I have come to the realization: let it go, and know that I am a valuable individual in my own right.
I have no cognitive disorders, and need to use my brain and not my heart to rule my life, and, to not allow others opinions to bring me to the brink of suicide.
I think, if only the system could have intervened before your son killed your cousin. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.