Its Madness: On Guardianship of the Mentally Ill from Afar

Hiatt type 2010 handcuffs. Circa 1990s (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Each time Brandon goes to jail, I forget how long the process takes.  He was arrested about Jan 23.  The state hospital sent someone to evaluate him last week and gave the opinion that he’s incompetent.  Now, the judge decides if he agrees.  His court date isn’t until the end of May.

Luckily, the public defender answered his phone this time.  He mistakenly thought Brandon was already at the state hospital.  I imagine the pile of charts on his desk – how many does the poor man have to track?  He will try to get the court date moved up because then Brandon will have to wait for a bed.

I recently read an article about prisons and even though Brandon is in jail and not prison, many of the points still apply.  I’ll never forget the description of Brandon when my lawyer saw him the last time.  He was sitting in his orange jumpsuit handcuffed on a bench along a row with the other inmates waiting for hearings.  I had never thought about it before.  The image is disturbing.  I’d rather see him in regular clothes, not handcuffed, in a hospital rather than jail.

As my lawyer points out, at least he has people who are trying to help.  No one was there for the other six men in orange jumpsuits.

Related articles

• Disadvantages of calling: “let me transfer you!” (guardianandconservator.wordpress.com)
• Its madness – I became involved (guardianandconservator.wordpress.com)
• Mentally ill inmates belong in hospitals, not jails (mysanantonio.com)