Andrew Goldstein
In 1989, Andrew Goldstein was admitted to a psychiatric hospital from a physical altercation with his mother; there he was diagnosed with Schizophrenia. In 1999, Andrew Goldstein, at a New York subway killed Kendra Webdale by pushing her into an oncoming train. Three weeks before the fatal altercation with Kendra Webdale, Andrew Goldstein was released, after committing himself to a New York hospital. Goldstein committed himself into the hospital due to “severe schizophrenia” (Frontline, A Case of Insanity). Even though the hospital, that Goldstein was released from, noted in their records that Goldstein was described as “thought-disordered,” “delusional,” and “psychotic” (Frontline) nonetheless, he was still release and referred to an outpatient therapy, after less than a month of being there.
Andrew Goldstein was arrested for second-degree murder of Kendra Webdale, Goldstein pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. During the first trial of Andrew Goldstein, in 1999, the jury became deadlocked resulting in a mistrial. However, in 2000, a new jury, after a 90-minute debilitation, the jury found Andrew Goldstein guilty of second-degree murder. Goldstein was given a sentence of twenty-five years to life in prison.
During the trial, you did not hear much from Andrew Goldstein’s family. His parents divorced when he was 8 years old and he had two brothers. During his trial the prosecution argued that Andrew Goldstein had an abusive childhood, that his mother was abused by his father, furthermore the prosecution tried to use these incidents as a connection to the fatal attack on Kendra Webdale. The defense replied that the family had given up on the mental health system.
Andrew Goldstein, in 1989, had his first me...
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...ady become dangerous. The law should prevent the dangerous behavior that could be a result of an individual rather than requiring the individual to become dangerous in order to receive help.
This law allows an individual to keep more of their civil liberties. It cost less than an inpatient commitment. The law has control not only on the individual who needs help but also on the mental health system to give the help. Involuntary commitment is a court order in which an individual with a severe mental illness is order into treatment in an impatient or outpatient hospital. The laws, that deals with the criteria for civil commitment varies from state to state. A dander to self or a danger to others is a standard, but some may result in that the danger must be imminent. The Kendra’s law is a way to try to establish a safety living style for the community for all.
In 2 years the trial ended with the verdict of guilty on the account of
David Berkowitz unleashed his random malicious scats during the summer of 1976. He is known today as one of New York’s most notorious serial killers. Berkowitz was born on June 1st, 1953 in New York, New York. He was adopted by the Berkowitz couple a few days after his birth. When Berkowitz was 18 the joined the U.S. Army. After the army, he got a job as a security officer and moved into an apartment in New York. No one even noticed the danger that slept next door.
In other words, the patient was sick because of his or her time in the institution. I find this interesting because without a more human telling of the story by Grob, it is hard to gauge if the psychosis of patients deteriorated in general with the length of stay in the institution and if because of this, did that impact the policies or methods of practice? I believe it would be similar to what they are finding now with the orphans of Romania in the 1980’s who were raised in institutions with only basic and minimal human contact and now are mostly homeless and unable to function in society or inmates in prison who have spent years behind bars and then are let go into the general population. History has proven that people struggle with trying to acclimate back into the general population. As a result of this by the 1980’s one-third of the homeless population in the United States were said to be seriously mentally ill. (PBS, "Timeline: Treatments for Mental
Media. The main means of mass communication regarded collectively. It comes in the form of t.v., radio, newspapers, magazines etc. The media has a way of portraying a story in a way that they want it to be seen by audiences. In other words, the media only tells us only what they want us to hear; which, may or may not be the truth or include the entire story. The media is always looking for the next best story and the competition to be the first one on the scene can be intense. A documentary by 9.14 Productions tells the story of a man and his art collection; The Barnes Foundation.
Gupta, M. (2001): Treatment refusal in the involuntarily hospitalized psychiatric population: Canadian policy and practice. In: Medicine and Law, Vol. 20, Issue 2, pp. 245-265.
“Harrison Bergeron” a short story by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., takes place in a totalitarian society where everyone is equal. A man who tries to play the savior, but ultimately fails in his endeavors to change the world. Vonnegut short story showed political views on communism, which is that total equality is not good (and that equity might be better).
When one considers the history of classical music, often images of Vienna, Prague, and other European cities come to mind. Centuries of European musical achievement and development have implanted in society the idea that classical music is an inherently European creation. Considering the accomplishments of countless composers such as J.S. Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Antonin Dvorak, this preconception is certainly not unfounded. However, Leonard Bernstein's rise to international fame proved that one cannot neglect American composers in a discussion of the development of Western music. Combining elements of a vast array of musical styles, Bernstein's unique compositions reached a wide variety of audiences and often bridged gaps between distinct musical genres. Through his long conducting career, profoundly influential compositional output, and televised music lectures, Leonard Bernstein left a lasting legacy which came to define American music in the 20th century.
Thousands of people statewide are in prisons, all for different reasons. However, the amount of mental illness within prisons seems to go unaddressed and ignored throughout the country. This is a serious problem, and the therapy/rehabilitation that prison systems have do not always help those who are mentally ill. Prison involvement itself can contribute to increased suicide (Hills, Holly). One ‘therapy’ that has increased throughout the years has been the use of solitary confinement, which has many negative effects on the inmates. When an inmate has a current mental illness, prior to entering into the prison, and it goes undiagnosed and untreated, the illness can just be worsened and aggravated.
Solitary confinement is a penal tactic used on inmates who pose a threat to themselves or other inmates. Solitary confinement is type of segregated prison in which prisoners are held in their cell for 22-24 hours every day. If they are allowed to leave their cell, they will silently walk shackled and in between two guards. They can only leave for showers or exercise. Their exercise and shower are always done alone and inside. They can exercise in fenced in yards surrounded by concrete. Solitary confinement is either used as a punishment for prison behaviors, a protection method for targeted inmates, or a place to keep prisoners who are a threat to the general prison population. Many prisoners are put in Administrative Segregation for their protection. Many prisoners in this type of segregation are teenagers, homosexuals, and mentally ill prisoners. Many mentally ill prisoners are sent to solitary confinement because there are not rehabilitation services available, and prison officials have run out of options (Shalev, 2008, p [1-2]). Solitary confinement is a convenient method for prison systems, but the detrimental effects on inmates make it an unsuitable option for inmate control.
Andrea Yates’ life started out completely normal. She graduated number one in her high school class, became a registered nurse for the Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, and met the love of her life and got married. Her life sounds as normal as anyone’s does. Four months after she gave birth to her fourth child, something changed. She tried her first suicide attempt by swallowing 40-50 sleeping pills. She was hospitalized to a psychiatric facility and diagnosed with major depressive disorder. Her doctor’s attempt to medicate her was unsuccessful. She was discharged due to insurance restrictions and according to Charles Patrick Ewing, a forensic psychologist and attorney who wrote the book Insanity, Murder, Madness, and the Law “her family contracted to keep a close eye on the patient.” Several months following her hospitalization, her mental health declined. She lost 13 pounds, had no energy, slept all day, and had memory and conce...
It is very hard to differentiate an ordinary mental health from a mental illness because there is no easy way of knowing unless you test them. Also, some mental health illnesses can be imitated by physical disorders. Mental health illnesses are ruled on any physical disorder, they are diagnosed and treated from the signs and symptoms, and also on how much the illness affects your everyday life ("Mental health: What's normal, what's not - Mayo Clinic", n.d.). Civil commitment laws have been around in the United States ever since the 1800s. Civil commitment cases mostly consist of family members of a mentally ill person who will try to commit the person in order to guarantee that they get help. The court system does not always care for civil commitment if the person is not showing direct danger or threats to them self or to others around them ("Civil Commitment of the Mentally Ill", n.d). In this paper we will talk about the insanity statutes being used in the state of Georgia and how often the insanity defense is being used, and the major criticisms of the insanity defense.
Lamb, H. R. (2004). Mentally ill persons in the criminal justice system: Some perspectives. Psychiatric Quarterly, 108-126.
These experiences--the trauma of physical and sexual victimization and conditions of self-contained detention, either alone or in combination--may aggravate inmates’ psychiatric symptoms or even precipitate the onset of new mental disorders. Inadequate mental health treatment available in many prisons and especially in solitary housing units compounds this psychiatric deterioration. Not shockingly, offenders with major mental illnesses are mostly prone to commit suicide while incarcerated.
(Justia US Law website, n.d.) This means that involuntarily committed patients do have the right to refuse psychiatric treatment as long as they do not pose a danger to themselves or others as determined by a medical provider using professional judgement. (Wortzel, 2006, para. 6) The refusal of treatment is an issue because mental health professionals know that the medications will help the patient, however also knowing that forcing medication could be a liability. (Oriol & Oriol,
Dodd was born in Washington State, July 3rd 1981. He had two older brothers and often described his home as loveless. His parents divorced when he was 15 years old (Newton, M n.d.). “Dodd stated his dad criticized a lot of what he did and that he could never live up to his expectations.” (Branch, Bryan, Giovenco, Nichols, Yeatts, n.d.). At 13 it is believed that Dodd began abusing children. He would expose his self from an upstairs window or bike around the neighborhood and expose his self to children. Dodd never claimed to be sexually abused but he wasn’t educated about sex. “Westley’s father, Jim Dodd, told The Oregonian that he acknowledged his son’s sexual deviancy with “father-son chats,” but mostly avoided talking about it, despite Westley’s increasing arrests and warnings. The eldest of three kids, Westley was otherwise well behaved. “He never did drugs, he never drank, he never smoke” said the elder Dodd.” (Scott, S n.d.).