Dangerousness: a foolish criteria

A front page story in The Washington Post yesterday was published under the headline: “Hinckley: Man on the mend or a danger?”

According to the story, a federal judge will decide the fate of would-be assasin John W. Hinckley Jr., this week after listening to five days of testimony.  Hinckley’s family members, as well as his doctors and case manager, claim the now 56-year old Hinckley does not present a danger either to himself or to the community. The depression and unspecified mental disorder that drove him — along with his narcissistic personality disorder — to nearly kill President Ronald Reagan in 1981 are now all under control.

That’s not so, prosecutors claim. They insist that  Hinckley, who has spent the past three decades in mental facilities,  is deceptive, lazy, and can’t be trusted. The Post quoted Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Chasson stating, “Mr. Hinckley has not been a good risk in the past and, therefore, is not going to be a good risk in the future.”

The judge is being asked to determine if Hinckley is “dangerous.”  If he is, the judge will not grant him more freedom than the ten day visits that he currently is allowed periodically with his mother — while being monitored by the U.S. Secret Service.

I often am asked how “dangerous”  became the criteria that is used  to decide if someone is so mentally ill that he/she can be involuntarily held and forced to undergo treatment. The question is an important one, especially for those of us who have loved ones with mental disorders.

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What’s Really Insane? Our System.

I want to call your attention to two recent events. I’d hoped to write about them sooner but traveling to give speeches, getting my new book  “put to bed” so that it can be published in January and launching a new book project caused me to fall behind.

The first is the ruling by San Diego based Judge Larry Alan Burns that Jared Lee Loughner, the twenty-two year old accused of killing six persons and wounding thirteen, including U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords, is so mentally disturbed that he cannot understand what is happening in a courtroom. This means he cannot be put on trial. 

Judge Burns decided to send Loughner, who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia,  to the U.S. Medical Facility for federal prisoners in Springfield, Missouri, where doctors will attempt to restore his competency. 

I’m afraid that many people mistakenly believe that the judge’s decision means that Loughner is going to be treated for his mental disorder. While he certainly may benefit from the medical attention that he will receive, it’s important to note that restoring competency and providing someone meaningful treatment are not the same.

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Why is “Dangerous” the Criteria?

      I receive emails and letters from parents and family members who have tried to get their loved ones help by having them involuntary committed into a hospital only to be stopped by our legal system. One of the sadder notes came this week from a father whose daughter was so sick that the psychiatrist who first examined her and the independent examiner appointed by the court to review her case quickly agreed that she needed to be hospitalized.

     But when the young woman appeared before a special justice here in Fairfax County, Virginia,  he ignored the two professionals’ recommendations and released the woman because, in his opinion, she did not pose a danger either to herself or to others.

    “Where did this dangerousness criteria come from?” the frantic father asked me in an email.

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