Theodore and Stevie
Content Warning: These stories are about violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation and may include references to suicide or self-harming behaviours. They may contain graphic descriptions and strong language and may be distressing. Some narratives may be about First Nations people who have passed away. If you need support, please see Contact & support.
‘Is it right that the prison system is filled with chronic mental health patients who break the law because of their mental illness? Is it right that people with mental illness are incarcerated in the prison system for the behaviour that stems from their mental illness?’
Stevie is a First Nation’s woman. Her son Theodore is in his 30s and lives with Tourette syndrome, obsessive-compulsive disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism.
When Theodore was in his mid-teens, a doctor gave him antipsychotic medication that Stevie said was ‘working well at stabilising him’.
When he turned 17, he asked a new psychiatrist if he could come off his medications. His psychiatrist said yes.
‘There was nothing I could do because he was considered old enough to make his own decisions,’ Stevie told the Royal Commission. ‘Looking back, this was really the beginning of a severe downward spiral for [Theodore].’
Theodore never saw that psychiatrist again, began self-medicating with illicit drugs, and lived on the street.
‘[Theodore was] at his worst with drug addiction and mental illness. He was charged with armed robbery and incarcerated for three and a half years.’
Stevie said Theodore received good psychiatric care in prison, where he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and given antipsychotic medication again. Once out of prison, the parole system organised housing and the NDIS gave him a treatment plan and a support worker ‘who was excellent’.
Theodore admitted himself to rehabilitation for his drug addiction. The rehabilitation centre gave Theodore a tele-consultation with a new psychiatrist.
‘The outcome of that one tele-consultation was that [Theodore] was taken off his medications.’
Stevie said this was against the advice of Theodore’s regular psychiatrist and psychologist, his GP and the mental health team that had been treating him since prison.
‘This marked the beginning of another severe deterioration of [Theodore’s] mental illness, the consequences of which are still playing out.’
Stevie said Theodore developed an ‘ongoing delusion’ to steal and crash cars ‘so his parents would not be killed’ and he would be returned to prison where he would be safe. After stealing and crashing numerous cars, he was returned to prison.
‘It seemed that his car stealing behaviour was deemed criminal … not as a result of psychosis.’
Stevie said a pattern followed in which Theodore was released from prison, admitted to mental health units and discharged ‘far too early’. He would then commit a crime, and be jailed again.
‘I don’t blame the prison system for having to take him in because of his crimes. I blame the mental health system for not being able to provide the care he needs, to keep him safe from himself and his psychotic episodes, and prevent him from committing crime.’
Disclaimer: This is the story of a person who shared their personal experience with the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability through a submission or private session. The names in this story are pseudonyms. The person who shared this experience was not a witness and their account is not evidence. They did not take an oath or affirmation before providing the story. Nothing in this story constitutes a finding of the Royal Commission. Any views expressed are those of the person who shared their experience, not of the Royal Commission.