FAIRHOPE, Ala. — The mother of
an Alabama man accused of shooting two sheriff's deputies wrote of his
increasingly erratic and threatening behavior in three requests to have
him placed in mental institutions against his will in recent years,
according to court documents that have surfaced since the shooting that
left one of the men dead. Read the entire article
here:http://www.kentucky.com/2012/11/27/2422992/deputies-shooter-struggled-with.htmlhttp://www.kentucky.com/2012/11/27/2422992/deputies-shooter-struggled-with.html
Editorial review: By GG Burns, KY mental health advocate and founder of the Change Mental Health Laws in KY project.
I recently read about this preventable tragedy and took the time to GOOGLE Michael Jansen, who obliviously needed help. After a few minutes search, I realize this preventable tragedy had hit the associated press and was repeated in over 70 newspapers across the US. Violence sells newspapers, not educational solutions to an ever growing problem of individuals suffering with serious and persistent mental illness who need to access medical treatment.
I immediately identified with his 84-year-old Mother, Mrs. Helen Jansen and wondered if my life or my son's life could one day end in a brief newspaper article like this. Stories like this appear in the news frequently, sometimes daily and make my heart weep. I understand all too well the hopelessness a Mother feels when they are unable to help their adult child receive the necessary medical care needed to be a productive citizen in the community. I can't imagine how this Mother feels now that she was unable to help prevent her son's death and the death of another.
My thoughts turned to what kind of headline would have been 'if' Michael Jansen, had received an 'assisted' outpatient agreed order 2 years ago and had remained in treatment? I wonder if this slain deputy's family will blame Micheal Jansen for the death of their son, husband or Father -- or will they blame the broken mental health system? I wonder if any good will come from this pointless and preventable tragedy?
Alabama, like every state, has its own civil commitment laws that establish criteria for determining when court-ordered intervention is appropriate for individuals with severe mental illness who are too ill to seek care voluntarily. The state authorizes both inpatient (hospital) and outpatient (community) treatment, which is known in Alabama as "court-ordered outpatient treatment." It is one of the 27 states whose involuntary treatment standard is based on a person’s “need for treatment” rather than only the person’s likelihood of being dangerous to self or others.
For inpatient treatment, a person must meet the following criteria:
- be a real and present danger to self/others or,
- without treatment will continue to suffer mental distress and deterioration of ability to function independently, and
- be unable to make a rational and informed decision concerning treatment.
For assisted outpatient treatment, a person must meet the following criteria:
- without treatment will continue to suffer mental distress and deterioration of the ability to function independently, and
- be unable to make a rational and informed decision concerning treatment.
