PSYCHOTIC, IN JAIL, NO MEDS!

My son has had his third psychotic episode in 14 mos. Each time it was brought on by meth or cocaine.He broke probation and is now in jail.I was hoping they would put him on antipsychotics, but they did not.He was 1368 in court and has a competency hearing in Jan. He will not have antipsych meds for 3 mos!I am afraid he may be brain damaged by then. Hes been getting into fights, going into lockdown because he wont obey the warden(because hes psychotic what do you expect!)He needs hospitalization.I dont know why the psych wont 5150 him and put him on meds.Hes attempted to self-injure and tried to hang himself,if thats not bad enough to be 5150 I dont know what is.How can I encourage the psych to 5150 him so he can medicate him? If my son hangs himself i would think the dr would be liable.Frustrated because I want him to get the help he needs

This is beyond my expertise, but I'm sure someone on this forum will be able to assist you.

I wish you all the best!

Nupy

That's terrible, sadmuthr. I had to google your terminology bc I'm in Canada. The procedures for contacting lawyers and politicians are different up here. I found this, tho. Don't tell me which state you're in. This lists the important numbers for Frisco. There may be one for your city if you look online.

http://www.sfdph.org/dph/files/CBHSdocs ... 042010.pdf

Does your son have a lawyer? If not, I believe you may be able to speak on his behalf to get the courts to appoint one for him. You are his mother, and he is incompetent atm.

Up here we have the John Howard Society, who advocate for prisoners' rights. Maybe you could look for something similar in your area?

I believe you should be able to become his legal guardian, and then be able to put him in a psych ward. You should at least be able to move him from prison to a psych ward considering he is bipolar and a risk to his own life.

You should check out www.prisontalk.com it's a site where you can ask legal type questions like this. There's lawyers on there and everything...I'm sure it'd help! Best of luck to you! I'm sure it's been really hard and only getting harder... stay strong!

thx.It just kills me hes in there w gang members and really violent people and hes been in fights,very dangerous. Also, keeping him locked down so he has no access to phones or I cant visit.,I have no idea whats going on.Its got to be very scary for someone psychotic to be cut off and isolated and to be subjected to high levels of noise in the jail, not to mention the negative aura, that will make him descend into madness further. He had a lawyer and the lawyer said, you have to wait for the competency hearing in mid jan.I am still going to try to do all I can do to get him meds before then,he needs them.He did tell me at one pt when he was allowed to talk to me that the guards were mean to him and were taunting him at one pt.Unfortunately I was the one who put him in jail because I was afraid he would kill someone,he went out and bought a new car and 2 days later trashed it.He was drag racing 120mph on the freeway,he had to be stopped.so I called his PO and she threw him in jail.I thought he would get some help there....nope! He should be in a hospital, I should have taken him there instead. I heard the psych only visits once a month and spends very little time w patients,they are independant contractors ,not employees so they are in and out quickly.The psych didnt think my son was that bad,which if you talk to him briefly he may seem normal, but of course if you have a lengthy conversation you would see the delusions coming out(being God etc...) It comes out on me full blown cuz I am his mother,he can somewhat hide it from drs unless they spend a little time w him which I doubt they are doing.

Have you tried bringing your concerns to his PO or lawyer? They may be able to give you some advice or check into things... just a thought..

One of the lawyers said you have to wait for the competency hearing mid jan 2013 before anything can be done.Which I dont understand because a psychiatrist has the power to invoke a 5150 to force medications on him and get treatment. I am stunned that with his record of self injuring, attempted hanging etc...the dr is saying she doesnt think hes that bad and hes just left to rot in a filthy jail to rot with no help. I am attempting to write a letter to the treating psychiatrist but I have the feeling they wont do anything.