I was contacted recently by a patient (I'll call her Hortense) on Hinton Unit at EMHC, who gave me a confused story about family, various "doctors" (psychs), court personnel, police, and innocent bystanders. As best I can tell the short version is: she was mid-divorce (not her choice) and somebody decided the strategy against her should be to get her locked up as unfit, which might work just long enough to create an advantage. Meanwhile, Hortense managed to get charged with domestic battery and violation of an order of protection, which were not serious crimes in the circumstances, but enough to get her sold into psychiatric slavery for the time being.
Enter the slave overseers: Dr. Jehanzeb Sheikh ("Shake"), Dr. James Finn ("Rattle") and social worker Vita Robinson ("Roll"), respectively the psychiatrist, psychologist, and case worker on Hortense's "treatment" team. All three are on IDHS' payroll. Shake makes over $300,000, Rattle and Roll are also into the taxpayers for six figures each. One might think these guys were among the best at EMHC. But somehow, they are happy to prove their complete inability or unwillingness to simply do the job they're paid to do, which in this case is to get Hortense fit for trial.
I've attended two staffings for this "patient", and done my best to emphasize there are few specific components of fitness under Illinois statutes: a) the accused must understand the charges against her, the proceedings in court, consequences of a plea, judgment or sentence, and the functions of participants at trial; b) the accused must be able to observe, recollect and relate occurrences concerning alleged incidents, and able to communicate with her legal counsel; and c) the accused must be able to behave socially, remain oriented to time and place, recognize persons, places and things, and perform motor processes.
The short form of this is: you're fit if you can understand your legal situation and work with your attorney in your own defense. There is a written test for understanding the legal situation. Ability to work with counsel is more in the eye of the beholder.
I can work with almost anyone no matter how crazy they are, or at least I like to think so. But some lawyers will only work with clients they like, or those who do exactly as they are told. Hortense has recently found it problematic to work with one or more attorneys, and she may not have financial resources to pay (or time to search) for one who is perfect for her. I knew one "UST" patient at EMHC who became his own crackerjack jailhouse lawyer fairly early in his confinement, yet he was held as unfit for at least a decade and a half. The EMHC overseers can probably keep anyone enslaved as "unfit" for more or less as long as they like, enabling her to be gotten rid of in the divorce. If the wrong people in the system don't like you or fear you, they'll say you're unfit, and they'll be believed.
Hortense is very well aware of her situation. She has repeatedly asked Rattle (the psychologist) to give her the written test to at least establish the first component of fitness. Rattle arrogantly told her this morning, "I can test you whenever I feel like it," which translates to, "I'll keep you here forever if you don't take Shake's drugs and convincingly swear allegiance to the mental health orthodoxy." Roll (social worker) continuously puts false reports in the (so-called) "chart" to turn everyone in court against Hortense and keep her enslaved.
If she doesn't get out of EMHC pretty quick, her chances for a decent life and any future relationship with her family will crash. Shake, Rattle & Roll! I believe you're doin' me wrong and now I know.
Psychiatry destroys families, that's one of its main functions.
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