An article published in today's edition of The Chronicle Herald:
Service intended to divert those who need help into treatment
By Michael Tutton, The Canadian Press
Nova Scotia is setting up a special court to divert some of the province’s mentally ill away from the criminal justice system and into treatment programs.
Justice Minister Ross Landry, standing in the gleaming new courtroom Thursday, said the new mental health court would balance the needs of the public and the mentally ill.
"It ensures public safety, and at the same time ensures the accused’s health needs are met," said Landry.
The once-a-week sitting at the court will not hold trials, but rather will serve as a setting where the court can work out alternatives to jail sentences and set up treatment programs, Landry explained.
Under the system, which begins Nov. 2, provincial court Judge Bill MacDonald will take cases recommended by a mental health court team.
The cases would include crimes normally brought to provincial court, like thefts and assaults, but not more serious acts such as murder and sexual assault.
The person being tried must either admit to the crime prior to appearing in the mental health court, or have been found guilty in a regular court and then referred.
In some instances, the mentally ill would have criminal charges against them withdrawn if they successfully complete their treatment program and fulfil the court’s conditions, Landry said.
The province’s handling of the mentally ill has come under scrutiny during the public inquiry into the death of Howard Hyde, who had a long history of schizophrenia and involvement with the courts.
Hyde died in jail on Nov. 21, 2007, about 30 hours after he was arrested for an alleged assault and Tasered during a struggle inside a Halifax police station.
Landry said he couldn’t say whether a mental health court system would have helped Hyde avoid his conflict with the law. But he said he believes that overall, it will improve the chances of treatment of mentally ill people who come before the courts.
He said a mental health court in Saint John, N.B., that has operated for over eight years has had positive results.
Statistics kept by that court for last year indicate that almost nine in 10 people using the court complete their treatment programs, and 86 per cent avoid further conflicts with the law.
However, during Thursday’s news conference the mother of a mentally ill man posed questions to Landry about whether the new court would be likely to accept people who have trouble recognizing their own illness.
Mary Elizabeth Greene, a Halifax-area social worker, told the minister her son has psychotic episodes and can’t recognize when he has done something wrong.
"He doesn’t believe he has a mental illness and he wouldn’t choose to go to a mental health court and there are many like my son who don’t have insight," she said.
The minister invited the woman to come to his office and talk, and said they would consult with medical experts. He said he hoped that once a mentally ill person receives treatment following a psychiatric assessment, he or she would agree to use the new court.
Greene said in addition to the courts, the province badly needs better group homes where her 24-year-old son could be monitored more often and treated.
Mary Elizabeth Greene watches as Justice Minister Ross Landry announces the province’s first court to help those with mental health issues during a news conference in Dartmouth on Thursday. Ms. Green’s son John Candow is in the mental health system as a patient.
Photograph by Eric Wynne, The Chronicle Herald.
Also see:
Hyde’s sister doubts mental health court would have helped
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