Bureaucratic Incompetence
It's fast approaching one year since the phone call that marks the dramatic change in my son's life. It's hard to believe he's been incarcerated for much of the past year. Weeks pass with little contact from the people dealing with him. His right to privacy and insistence that I be left out of his case keep me mostly in the dark. I understand the rules and the limitations placed on medical and legal professionals. I ask no one to betray this code but it is difficult not knowing my son's condition. I wonder if the state of Michigan has come to the same conclusion as doctors in Florida.
Equally frustrating is the lack of communication between people and departments managing James' case. I have built a file on my son's ordeal. Last last year I learned first hand that state run agencies dealing with criminal and mental health cases do not share information helpful to one another. It started in Florida, the site of James' first arrest, when information I had provided to one person had to be repeatedly sent to another person, another agency, more people, over and over. After a few episodes I decided to save my statements, the events and facts regarding James' case, and the contacts involved. The list of names, phone numbers and email addresses grows as legal and mental health professionals come in and out of contact with my son.
After his release from jail in Florida and subsequent arrest in Michigan the ordeal continued. I provided a wealth of information to the detective investigating his crime of auto theft. Weeks later a jailhouse psychologist left a message on my home phone. They had been trying to reach me but without James' cooperation had to conduct an internet search. She did not know for sure if the message she left was reaching James' family. It was a shot in the dark. Why the statement I left the detective, which included my personal contact information, was not passed on to jail personnel is a mystery.
After providing the psychologist the information she needed our contact faded as her observation of James' right to privacy limited her ability to share news of his case. I email her every few weeks to ask how James is doing. Her replies are less than 25 words with no new information. I did learn from her that a competency hearing was scheduled for August 13th. This is public information.
Brand new to my file and list of contacts are two court appointed attorneys in Michigan. Last Wednesday, less than two hours before the competency hearing, I received a phone call from a lawyer I had unsuccessfully attempted to reach in previous weeks. No one returns my calls but when they need something I'm expected to jump. I do. I want to help. The young man first apologized for the 6:00 AM phone call citing the three hour time difference. He explained there was a hearing only minutes away and asked several questions. Our conversation was brief. He promised to call later that afternoon with the court ruling. He's one of few who have kept a promise.
James was ruled incompetent to stand trial. He's been transferred to a forensic psychiatric facility where he will be further observed, evaluated and possibly treated for his mental illness. The attorney did not share facts regarding diagnosis. He did say that James was prescribed medication but would not cooperate in his treatment. He refused to take his meds believing his hospitalization and the pills were part of the conspiracy against him. It is possible my son will be forcibly medicated in the hospital he's been transferred to. With meds being administered I feel it's safe to assume there's been some clinical diagnosis.
In our conversation I mentioned facts I assumed James' attorney was would be aware of, like his previous arrest in Florida and the diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia, but was shocked to learn he did not know of these events. How can an attorney representing a young man facing a competency hearing not have important information such as previous mental health evaluations in his file? I should not be shocked because this has been my experience since October of last year, yet for some reason each instance of bureaucratic incompetence surprises me. I'm organizing my file to be sent to this attorney.
One year ago my son was starting law school. This week he's been institutionalized. The hospital has close ties to the college he was attending. It's strange how events come full circle. The ordeal continues.