According to the law, Michael should be charged with attempt in deprivation of life. This case is a little hard to determine because Michael's defense attorney could argue that he was "insane" at the moment of the crime. They could also argue that since Michael never got the appropriate help he needs, his condition was never treated which lead to his outburst. Dealing with cases involving the mentally ill always has two sides, either he is guilty or innocent and why. I believe that Micheal is guilty. Yes, he should have received proper treatment but according to the book, he still committed a crime. -Eclipse456
I believe that every state needs to rethink how people should get treated with their mental illness. In this case this could have been prevented if people would have treated Michael's condition properly. He is guilty of his crime but if he had gotten proper help this crime could have been prevented.savage465
I think being trained in spotting signs of a mental illness should be a part of training for ANYONE wanting to go into the criminal justice system. This way, we can tell if someone could be faking something to get out of trouble, or so that the officers that are dealing with the mentally ill suspect treat him/her with the care that they need. Some cases of mental illness, the people don't understand what they are doing, and officers need to be taught to understand that and how to deal with it if the situation arises.
First, I have to state that this article was beautifully written and that I honestly read the entire thing beginning to end--every single word. Second of all, the situation explained in the article about the McDaniel boy enrages me. How strict can involuntary commitment laws be that mental health practitioners would not accept a young adult who openly stated that he would blow his own parent's heads off? The topic on involuntary commitment is a tricky one and I can't even think of a way we could address it, but these laws definitely need to be rewritten, especially in Pennsylvania. They need to be less strict, but not to the point to where the law was in the 1960s where a husband could commit his wife in place of divorcing her (yes, this used to happen). Unlike the comments above may lead one to believe, this article is not about the quality of care he was given at all. The psychiatrists Michael had seen were only doing their jobs and following the law. Therefore, it makes sense to talk about how the law should be changed and how mental illness should be taken more seriously, especially when it comes to involuntary commitment (considering the fact that the majority of mental illness sufferers also are stricken with anosognosia).
This article was very mind blowing. There needs to be some revisions sooner than later. I do know the mental health field has been getting alot of attention. There is not alot of research, but what we do know can benefit those who do have a problem. States like Pennsylvania appear to lack the qualities of care they can treat and cleared him. Thought those who are diagnosed as mentally ill go into the state called anosognosia which 40% are diagnosed with. It scary to think that sometimes the only way to help these people are when they are on the brink of suicide or about to commit a crime. The law is outdated and as a result must change. Palmdaddy456
I think this case about Michael McDaniel shows the ineptitude we have as a society when it comes to mental illnesses. In his case, and several others, tragic events could have been prevented had the patients gotten the necessary help that they needed, and truly deserved. In this specific case his doctors and physicians sited that he didn’t meet the requirements for involuntary commitment and sent him home each and every time he was involuntarily committed. This brings into question whether the doctors thought that he was mentally stable enough to make his own decisions, knowing all the consequences and the risks or benefits that came with those decisions. Clearly his family was disturbed, but loved him so they did their best with the situation that was presented to them. It seems to me that we need to scrutinize all the laws relating to mental illness because the consequences of not getting things right, by giving patients the help they need, can, and often times are, very severe to the patient and those around them. CSI 789
It's awful to hear about things like this it shouldn't be too hard to determine if someone needs medical help for their mental disease since people specialize in the field for it. I think part of the reason for this has to do with the past. Because we had so easily but people in the mental institution and due to lack of knowledge at the time did awful things to the people to "treat" them so the laws had to be changed. Because the institution were so bad we had to change the laws so that this couldn't happen again which meant that in order to put someone into a place involuntarily doctors had to be absolutely certain the person needs it which causes the issue of many people who do need it don't get it. So what we need to do is slowly work back into a healthy system of treating these ill people because it is becoming more common and they are ending up in the criminal justice system which is unnecessary if they had proper help. -Acerunner789
That is crazy what Michael did to his 74 year old grandmother. He beat her with her own cane. He spent a lot of time in that pool room all by himself, far away from his family. In class, people in the 1800s that were incarcerated usually went mad because of lack of human attention. I think he did this to himself pushing his family away where he spent time just thinkin. If I was a parent and I notice my child is lacking his presents around his family, I would worry about my son spending all that time alone. That the hospital forced the family to take back Michael when they really didn't do anything for him. The hospital put the family in a tough situation by saying they will put him in a homeless facility or the family can take him home. The family must be in fear every night with him home, thinking who will be next. Pennsylvania needs to focus on updating or rewriting their laws. That mental ill people are committed according to the law. They need to adapt the Washington D.C. standards on mentally ill people, before more people with mental ill family members do something crazy and the family get upset at Pennsylvania for their strict laws. Phenom789
Reading things like this just really upsets me It shouldn't have to take til someone commits a serious crime to commit them as mentally ill I feel like I'm sure they kept all of his records on file each time the family tried to send him. That should have been a pattern, that let them know that he should have been admitted also that the psychiatric Doctor withheld information from the family that he might cause harm to them. I think they should have let them know and if they suspected that why didn't they keep him. The laws basically says to be committed there has to death self inflicted bodily harm or poses danger to others which is like saying you have to commit a dangerous crime to be considered mentally ill. It shouldn't have to lead to that especially when you've tried on several occasions. Jiggers789
I believe that a lot more happened then what needed to be done. I think not admitting Michael after beating his grandmother with her cane was enough, then something’s wrong. I understand Pennsylvania has a strict law to claim mentally ill when committing a crime, but sometimes when some people get declined, I think it should have a chance to be reviewed, because there are some people out here who commit crimes who aren’t in the right state of minds. I believe that the parents of Michael should’ve stopped giving him multiple chances. I understand that’s their son, but to not hear your son at all beating his grandmom is a little hard to argue. But I’m glad it was stopped before he found the sledge hammer in the garage. I’m glad he eventually moved into a house with other people with issues because they usually understand each other better than us trying to understand them. As well it was a good decision because finding the gun shop history would scare me and make me wonder what happened if he really did get ahold of a gun? ThinBlue94789
According to the law, Michael should be charged with attempt in deprivation of life. This case is a little hard to determine because Michael's defense attorney could argue that he was "insane" at the moment of the crime. They could also argue that since Michael never got the appropriate help he needs, his condition was never treated which lead to his outburst. Dealing with cases involving the mentally ill always has two sides, either he is guilty or innocent and why. I believe that Micheal is guilty. Yes, he should have received proper treatment but according to the book, he still committed a crime. -Eclipse456
ReplyDeleteI believe that every state needs to rethink how people should get treated with their mental illness. In this case this could have been prevented if people would have treated Michael's condition properly. He is guilty of his crime but if he had gotten proper help this crime could have been prevented.savage465
ReplyDeleteI think being trained in spotting signs of a mental illness should be a part of training for ANYONE wanting to go into the criminal justice system. This way, we can tell if someone could be faking something to get out of trouble, or so that the officers that are dealing with the mentally ill suspect treat him/her with the care that they need. Some cases of mental illness, the people don't understand what they are doing, and officers need to be taught to understand that and how to deal with it if the situation arises.
ReplyDelete-rose456
First, I have to state that this article was beautifully written and that I honestly read the entire thing beginning to end--every single word.
ReplyDeleteSecond of all, the situation explained in the article about the McDaniel boy enrages me. How strict can involuntary commitment laws be that mental health practitioners would not accept a young adult who openly stated that he would blow his own parent's heads off? The topic on involuntary commitment is a tricky one and I can't even think of a way we could address it, but these laws definitely need to be rewritten, especially in Pennsylvania. They need to be less strict, but not to the point to where the law was in the 1960s where a husband could commit his wife in place of divorcing her (yes, this used to happen). Unlike the comments above may lead one to believe, this article is not about the quality of care he was given at all. The psychiatrists Michael had seen were only doing their jobs and following the law. Therefore, it makes sense to talk about how the law should be changed and how mental illness should be taken more seriously, especially when it comes to involuntary commitment (considering the fact that the majority of mental illness sufferers also are stricken with anosognosia).
OldHollywood456
This article was very mind blowing. There needs to be some revisions sooner than later. I do know the mental health field has been getting alot of attention. There is not alot of research, but what we do know can benefit those who do have a problem. States like Pennsylvania appear to lack the qualities of care they can treat and cleared him. Thought those who are diagnosed as mentally ill go into the state called anosognosia which 40% are diagnosed with.
ReplyDeleteIt scary to think that sometimes the only way to help these people are when they are on the brink of suicide or about to commit a crime. The law is outdated and as a result must change.
Palmdaddy456
I think this case about Michael McDaniel shows the ineptitude we have as a society when it comes to mental illnesses. In his case, and several others, tragic events could have been prevented had the patients gotten the necessary help that they needed, and truly deserved. In this specific case his doctors and physicians sited that he didn’t meet the requirements for involuntary commitment and sent him home each and every time he was involuntarily committed. This brings into question whether the doctors thought that he was mentally stable enough to make his own decisions, knowing all the consequences and the risks or benefits that came with those decisions. Clearly his family was disturbed, but loved him so they did their best with the situation that was presented to them. It seems to me that we need to scrutinize all the laws relating to mental illness because the consequences of not getting things right, by giving patients the help they need, can, and often times are, very severe to the patient and those around them. CSI 789
ReplyDeleteIt's awful to hear about things like this it shouldn't be too hard to determine if someone needs medical help for their mental disease since people specialize in the field for it. I think part of the reason for this has to do with the past. Because we had so easily but people in the mental institution and due to lack of knowledge at the time did awful things to the people to "treat" them so the laws had to be changed. Because the institution were so bad we had to change the laws so that this couldn't happen again which meant that in order to put someone into a place involuntarily doctors had to be absolutely certain the person needs it which causes the issue of many people who do need it don't get it. So what we need to do is slowly work back into a healthy system of treating these ill people because it is becoming more common and they are ending up in the criminal justice system which is unnecessary if they had proper help. -Acerunner789
ReplyDeleteThat is crazy what Michael did to his 74 year old grandmother. He beat her with her own cane. He spent a lot of time in that pool room all by himself, far away from his family. In class, people in the 1800s that were incarcerated usually went mad because of lack of human attention. I think he did this to himself pushing his family away where he spent time just thinkin. If I was a parent and I notice my child is lacking his presents around his family, I would worry about my son spending all that time alone. That the hospital forced the family to take back Michael when they really didn't do anything for him. The hospital put the family in a tough situation by saying they will put him in a homeless facility or the family can take him home. The family must be in fear every night with him home, thinking who will be next. Pennsylvania needs to focus on updating or rewriting their laws. That mental ill people are committed according to the law. They need to adapt the Washington D.C. standards on mentally ill people, before more people with mental ill family members do something crazy and the family get upset at Pennsylvania for their strict laws. Phenom789
ReplyDeleteReading things like this just really upsets me It shouldn't have to take til someone commits a serious crime to commit them as mentally ill I feel like I'm sure they kept all of his records on file each time the family tried to send him. That should have been a pattern, that let them know that he should have been admitted also that the psychiatric Doctor withheld information from the family that he might cause harm to them. I think they should have let them know and if they suspected that why didn't they keep him. The laws basically says to be committed there has to death self inflicted bodily harm or poses danger to others which is like saying you have to commit a dangerous crime to be considered mentally ill. It shouldn't have to lead to that especially when you've tried on several occasions. Jiggers789
ReplyDeleteI believe that a lot more happened then what needed to be done. I think not admitting Michael after beating his grandmother with her cane was enough, then something’s wrong. I understand Pennsylvania has a strict law to claim mentally ill when committing a crime, but sometimes when some people get declined, I think it should have a chance to be reviewed, because there are some people out here who commit crimes who aren’t in the right state of minds. I believe that the parents of Michael should’ve stopped giving him multiple chances. I understand that’s their son, but to not hear your son at all beating his grandmom is a little hard to argue. But I’m glad it was stopped before he found the sledge hammer in the garage. I’m glad he eventually moved into a house with other people with issues because they usually understand each other better than us trying to understand them. As well it was a good decision because finding the gun shop history would scare me and make me wonder what happened if he really did get ahold of a gun? ThinBlue94789
ReplyDelete