To whom it may concern in the departments of the court above,
I hope you are reading this letter in good health. I am sorry to bother you, I know you are all busy, and I know also that you take your jobs seriously and try your best, but I feel there is a definite need to discuss this, somewhat out of control, subject. That is the topic of mental illness treatment verses criminal acts and punishment.
In the field myself, of Social Work and Psychotherapy, I am familiar with the need for much more care and service in the area of mental health in South Florida and the lack of facilities offering the kind of help, the courts could use.
I understand you are limited by availability of assistance and the mentally handicap persons limited understanding and difficulty in cooperating.It is not an easy situation, it is an ongoing dilemma for the ill individuals, families, Court system, Lawyers and Judges.However, the seemingly automatic criminal judgements handed down to these helpless people putting them in even more stressful, possibly future dangerous situations, is not the answer.
In my case, that of Robert Blum, my son, soon to be 33 years old, ill since diagnosed with Schizophrenia and Clinical Depression at the age of fifteen,given several felonies.
This is an individual that lost his entire family, except for his mother, myself, his home and all his friends and future dreams. Shortly before his father ran away with everything we had, he did not know where his father was for eight months and blamed himself. He located him to ask why he left and what it was he had done to make him leave. My x, his father, a real criminal, slammed the door in Robert’s face, not at all interested, other than getting away with what he had done and continues to do, never having given alimony or child support. (Except for several $50.00 payments when found by children’s support collection agency.) I tell all this to make you see this is a real person that is hurting who is an innocent ill individual. After I go, no one in the world will he have. With felonies and a brain that does not work how will he survive?
This is not the way this scenario should go. All ill people, no matter their crime, should be treated for their illness, especially if they are to improve or learn from their actions. Of course there may be some, so severe, they need to be in a state hospital, indefinitely, criminally insane separated from those of lessor crimes. For those like my son a treatment center, centers should be in place to heal them, not put them in remission for a season with poisonous medicines that encourage greed from the pharmaceutical industry. In Canada Orthomolecular approaches have cured Schizophrenia for over twenty five years. If money was not an issue these homeless mentally ill young people, otherwise mostly intelligent, would be off the street in treatment of that kind, as they are in Canada. Later able to go on with their lives in a fruitful manner, adding to society instead of being a burden.
I realize you have limitations as to what you can and cannot do and you cannot provide this system of care so needed. However, you could take these situations into account and treat them, not as criminals, but as those that need treatment, not in jail, but in treatment of some kind.
With my son who is not cooperative when off meds, a Psychiatrist and counselor he must see for a period of time, (Hopefully that will be able to assist his care and meds until the orthomolecular program is in place.) in leu of a jail sentence and felony.
Perhaps discussion can begin on some level of government about more access to treatment, or a look past the harmful pharmaceuticals to Orthomolecular for America as well . That may be too political for the courts of our time and location to handle, but the issues certainly can be looked at closely by the Lawyers, Prosecutors and Judges in cases such as this.
Please have the Public Defender who admits she may not have explained everything to his understanding rewrite a motion that is appropriate. Please have the prosecutor assist in any way she can. God bless all of you. I pray those that need help get it. The courts need to deal harshly with criminals, not mental patients. I cannot thank you enough for your time. Thank you so much.