So on the 25th August I read in the local press, that my friend – who suffers from mental health issues – had been sentenced to 4 months prison. Is this fair?
My friend Mr X suffers from learning difficulties, as well as anxiety and bipolar disorder, not to mention various forms of autism. So, in short, he is a very vulnerable 25-year-old man that hasn’t been dealt the best hand in life.
Mr X has been a friend for many years and has always suffered from his mental instability. Socialisation within his enclosed life has always been an issue. This has led to several serious suicide attempts and many long stays within the Mental Health Services all around England. Including a 6 year stay at a medium secure hospital in Harrow London, which cost around £100,000 per year.
25% of women and 15% of men in prison reported symptoms indicative of psychosis.The rate among the general public is about 4%.
Mr X was handed a 4-month prison sentence last week after magistrates accessed his case. He was arrested initially for threatening a police officer via a mobile phone call and brandishing a bladed article in the public centre of Kidderminster. The knife was obtained upon his arrest by the officers.
The frenzied uncharacteristic attack on the authorities came after Mr X lost his supported housing only weeks before and was on a downward spiral. This was after the institution in Kidderminster had evicted Mr X after a series of irrational outbursts and attempts on his own life. My thoughts on their reasoning for the expulsion: they just didn’t have the resources to deal with a deeply troubled individual like Mr X.
In the run-up to this tragic event, I had met with Mr X at a local hospital, around the time he lost his accommodation. He was receiving medical attention for an attempt on his own life, after spending the evening terrified by hearing voices. Mr X does have a history of schizophrenia related delusions. The petrified, heavily sedated Mr X expressed his concerns to me that morning about the future and his fears of stability and security within his life. Explaining he felt very alone and that he needed help from both the authorities and more importantly his mother who he felt he had let down.
Self-inflicted deaths are 8.6 times more likely in prison than in the general population.
Mr X’s mother also suffers from mental health and was at the time of his arrest, said to have been unaware of her son being detained and his declining mental health. She was not directly contacted by the arresting officers or the institution that detained him subsequently, however in the past (in my experience) she hasn’t been all that easy to reach. I believe Mr X’s mother was his primary caregiver up until recently when the level of care needed for Mr X to live a normal safe life became too much for her to cope with.
Now, on the Wednesday afternoon of the incident, Mr X would almost certainly have been out of his mind, worried and frightened for his future. His deterioration in the practical and rational cognitive process would almost certainly have been one of the factors causing his diminished emotional state. I am under no illusion that what Mr X did that day was both terrifying and criminal, but knowing Mr X as I do, this would have almost certainly been a cry for help. An extreme one, but a cry for help none the less. In my experience,
The PPO’s investigation found that nearly one in five of those diagnosed with a mental health problem received no care from a mental health professional in prison.
70% of people who died from self-inflicted means whilst in prison had already been identified as having mental health needs. However, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) found that concerns about mental health problems had only been flagged on entry to the prison for just over half of these people.
Mr X will have only ever been a danger to himself. In conversations with myself and other close friends, Mr X felt he had no immediate future and no viable way of keeping himself within the care system, where he felt safe. In the previous weeks when suicide was attempted, in my opinion, the authorities and the NHS failed him catastrophically by deeming him emotionally fit for release. It is to be remembered that any patient to be released from the care of the NHS has to undergo a tick list of conditions, a safety net of sorts for both the patient and the hospital. If the answers given aren’t satisfactory a discharge is highly inadvisable. It is worth noting that Mr X could barely walk in his sedated state, and I and my partner had to take him back to our home and arrange transport for Mr X back to his then accommodation in Kidderminster; over 20 miles away.
70% of people who died from self-inflicted means whilst in prison had already been identified as having mental health needs. However, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) found that concerns about mental health problems had only been flagged on entry to the prison for just over half of these people.
This does not take away from Mr X’s awful and terrifying actions of that afternoon. However, what is realistic and honest mitigation for the defendant?
I do not doubt that the incident was handled with the utmost respect for the offender. Despite that, in this case, Mr X has been dealt with inappropriately. The harsh surroundings of prison – with it’s rigid and intimidating atmosphere will only serve to exacerbate Mr X’s medical conditions. And, in my opinion, could well lead to his demise.
I have written this article today in the hope of highlighting my friend’s plight. As well as the need for more tailored reform practices within the judicial system, especially for those deemed vulnerable by society.
I know what this man has done is wrong. The carrying of knives in today’s climate must not be tolerated, however, the locking up of a vulnerable man with a bundle of illnesses does not seem the appropriate path for punishment. As his friend, I accept the need for the immediate detention of Mr X for the sole purpose of IPP (public protection – Ed), but continued incarceration outside of a specialised mental health unit seems unhealthy for all involved. I hope this is to be a temporary measure while an appropriate spot within a secure mental health unit can be attained for him. However, the recent cuts in public spending on prisons do not bode well for this outcome with long waiting lists for even the most needy mentally ill patients in the prison system.
I intend to do everything possible to have Mr X housed in the appropriate facility and I will duly keep you all informed.
