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Timothy Halson Case Study

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Timothy Halton has lived with his mental illness nearly his entire life. MacKeigan reports that Halton was diagnosed at an uncommonly early age, and had many experiences with police concerning an array of crimes. While some of Timothy Haltons crimes were minor, others were violent. Halton had not only assaulted people in his family, but strangers as well. His family wondered about his and everyone around him’s safety. The courts usually sentenced Halton to mental health treatment and probation. When Halton attacked a police officer but was found to be incompetent to stand trial and instead was sentenced to three months of inpatient treatment.(MacKeigan 2008) Once his treatment was completed, Halton was ordained to four years probation as long …show more content…

(MacKeigan 2008) The probation department had an enormous case load and no time to give Halton the care he required. MacKeigan notes that after, Halton had chosen to seek treatment for his mental illness, checking in with a mental health agency for the homeless about once a month to get anti-psychotic medications, but eventually started to miss appointments. In a horrible chain of events on May 25, 2007, Halton shot and killed a young police officer, Jason West, who was there to check on a call about a street fight.(MacKeigan 2008) This lead many wondering if society could prevent these kinds of crimes. Officer West's killing and other acts of violence across the country has created a public cry for compulsory outpatient treatment of the mentally ill. Forty-two states have created some way of involuntary outpatient treatment. …show more content…

Within those who oppose preventive commitment is Mental Health America who articulate on its position that "mandatory treatment has not been shown to add to the effectiveness of community mental health services and, indeed, may interfere with recovery by compromising personal responsibility and lowering self-esteem." (Mental Health America 2005) Similarly, Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law calls outpatient commitment a "dangerous formalization of coercion" that "deters individuals from voluntarily seeking treatment" and is a "simplistic response that cannot compensate for a lack of appropriate and effective" community services. (Judge

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