Sandy Turner — HE HAS SCHIZOPHRENIA, YOUR HONOR (FLORIDA)
Once upon a time, when Casey was very sick and demonstrating symptoms of his illness in the courtroom, his overwhelmed public defender started defending Casey by speaking out on an entirely different case. I raised my hand and said, "He has the wrong file, Your Honor."
A large bailiff came near to me so I apologized and slunk down. When his defender began speaking again, it was as if he was speaking from a routine script with no sense of what was happening to this beautiful young man's life. My son was disappearing right before our eyes.
I raised my hand again and said, "He has schizophrenia, Your Honor."
The large bailiff came and stood in front of me again, this time with his arms crossed in front of him. I apologized a second time and watched as this amazing judge got it. The prosecutor finally got it, too, and came to speak with me. I asked, "Why do they prosecute patients for displaying symptoms of their illness?" He put his head down and shook it.
One day in our trip down behavioral lane. I remember every one of them.
Read more of Sandy’s story in the upcoming book, TOMORROW WAS YESTERDAY - Explosive First-Person Indictments of the US Mental Health System -- Mothers Across the Nation Tell It Like It Is. It will be available on Amazon.
Watch my Nautilus Book Awards Author Spotlight video: https://vimeo.com/422993030
Casey Alan Campbell (1985-2009)