You Know What Really Grinds my Gears?

A few months back, I was required to give so-called "expert" testimony in a court case. Criminal trials never run to schedule and I had to shuffle many appointments around in order to be in court at the time I might be expected to be called to the witness box.

There are occasions when I look forward to testifying in support of offenders whom I believe to be far more sinned against than sinning - those whose offending behaviour I see as inextricably linked with mental illness. I have no patience with a justice system that fails to accommodate such people. Incarceration without expert intervention may satisfy some, but it inevitably leads to ex-prisoners who are far sicker on release than they were when locked away.

It is no faault of the majority of social workers, psychologists, nurses and physicians who work in our prisons. The area of mental health is poorly resourced, grossly under-funded and just plain misunderstood within the justice system itself. Even worse is the limited assistance available to the mentally ill long before they ever offend. If greater attention were paid before the event - more interventions - I believe there would be far fewer mentally ill people ever reaching court at all.

The adversarial nature of court proceedings can be sickening. I refuse to give sympathetic testimony on behalf of those who are merely seeking some desperate excuse to absolve them of guilt rather than a clear, clinical reason that may help us understand - not excuse - bad behaviour.

Comments

The clear insight that a lawyer and a psychologist would each have into the situation you cite combines in you. No wonder the frustration. Distinguishing between reason and excuse is difficult and may be unnecessary. Treatment, if nothing more than non-judgmental attention, is the requirement.
 

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