Ashley Smith
The case of Ashley Smith shows just how people who suffer from mental health are treated. Ashley was never officially diagnosed with a mental disorder, only behavioral disorders and learning disabilities. However there was no official follow up to see whether or not if mental illness was at all part of the issue. The storey of Ashley Smith starts back when she was only 10 years old. Up until the time she was 10 Ashley wasn’t experiencing any issues of being a “bad child.” However, she slowly started to develop behavioral issues which were taken notice in her school. Ashley was constantly being disruptive and would talk too much while in class. Her bad behavior amplified as years past. She was seen as unwilling to comply to respecting her teacher, having unstable relationships with her peers and would continually rebel against authority. Due to these actions Ashley was suspend from school on many different occasions. Later in Ashley’s life consequences were given because she was continually getting into trouble; from being charged with assault to causing disturbances in a public space. When she was 15, Ashley was incarcerated for the first time after violating orders of her probation. The incident that landed Ashley in jail at the New Brunswick Youth Center was because she threw crabapples at the local mailman. During Ashley’s time spent at NBYC there were over 30 incidence reports stating that Ashley was unwilling to take orders from guards which resulted in the use of force. As well she would at times use the threat of suicide which would result in her being put in restraints. Also she was put in what is called Therapeutic Quiet, which was basically segregation and isolation for many hours at a time. Within a three year period Ashley was placed in and taken out of different correctional facilities and was continually treated the same as she was in NBYC. The final correctional facility where Ashley was placed was the Kitchener Grand Valley Institution for Women. As already mentioned Ashley was treated with the same use of force and segregation as in the previous correctional institutions. However what is different is that during her time there the Warden issued a report that stated no officer was to enter Ashley’s cell if she was strangling herself, as long as she was still breathing. The reasoning for this was because Ashley at this point in her time in prison, was continually strangling herself, possibly as a way of getting attention of the guards. However it was because of this report that resulted in her death. Ashley used pieces of her gown tied together and began to strangle herself, guards not entering to check on her because she was seen as still breathing. After almost half an hour of Ashley doing this the guards entered only to find that she was unconscious, and had died. Throughout Ashley’s time in prison it is important to note that she was promised treatment so that she could get help for her issues. However this did not happen in any of the prisons that she stayed at. Instead of treatment she was only subjected to segregation cells for 23 out of the 24 hours of the day. It is seen that because of this isolation and horrific treatment used against Ashley, it led her to become suicidal, which would in turn take her life.
The link provided below is a documentary by Hana Gartner which goes through Ashley’s life and the aftermath. Some of the language is offensive as well the videos shown may be disturbing to some.
http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/2009-2010/out_of_control/
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Don Weitz
This story was taken from the Psychiatric Survivor Achieves of Toronto.
A man by the name Don Weitz was incarcerated at the McLeans Hospital by his parents as well as his psychiatrists without his permission to do so. Don was labeled as a schizophrenic and subjected to insulin shock therapy. Don was started on 5 units of insulin a day and over a short period of time 5 units became 25 units and this number continued to increase. This type of treatment causes effects that include obsessive compulsive eating; as well it puts the patient in a subcoma or coma state which can result in death. It is extremely painful and debilitating. Don spent 45 days in the psychiatric hospital and received 110 treatments. Throughout these 45 days Don would at times receive over 90 doses of insulin a day. Within his days at McLeans Hospital the treatments would cause him to go in and out of comas, sweating, twitch/uncooperative body movements, mumbled speech/become unresponsive, intense emotional states of sadness/anger and the list goes on. As well Don was seen as resisting treatment because many times he would ask the nurses and doctors to stop, tell them this was unjust, and he can’t take it anymore. Don’s treatment finally ceased in 1953 and was released on the condition that he would go back to school and continue to see his psychotherapist. Don states that he was lucky to have escaped permanent brain damage or memory which is also a result of insulin shock.
The video link below is about legislation that is in the process of being passed that will ban shock therapy in Canada. Don Weitz speaks as well as a MPP, an academic psychologist, and a patient that was subjected to shock therapy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5aO85Ic6b4