h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The following is such a reluctant issue for American media I am seeking light on the matter from elsewhere...


Once again Americans are preparing to celebrate our freedom, equality; and unite in faith that all Americans possess certain inalienable rights. As a child I had a deeper understanding of those rights than most. When I was eleven a veteran of twenty years of Philadelphia Pediatrics said I was the worst abused child he had ever seen if you only counted the ones he had crossed paths with that lived. I then became a plaintiff in a criminal case. My father believed in delegation, he was not a defendant but five members of the church he headed were. I saw how the system that was striving to defend me was constrained by the rights and due process accorded American Citizens.

At the age of sixteen I was committed to a Mental Ward at a General Hospital. I saw how swiftly the same State systems that were so delicate with the rights of my antagonists turned to absolutely crush mine. You see, in Pennsylvania commitment proceedings are considered civil proceedings. Over the ensuing decades I repeatedly argued in court that I was being deprived of my liberty and that the Federal Constitution did not differentiate between hospitals or prisons. Hearsay was repeatedly used against me, I had no right to face my accuser. Though any word that is uttered by a mental patient can be used against them they are afforded no Miranda protection. Any staff member can write down whatever they want on a chart with no threat of perjury. My arguments were accepted as valid and every one of my objections was upheld. But the State of Pennsylvania deliberately did not appeal the rulings. They knew they would lose in a higher court and be forced to change the laws. But out of dozens of hearings only twice did the judge order my release from the hospital.

Once I demanded a trial by a jury of my peers. Doctor Shilke of Lehigh Valley Hospital assembled a jury for me that consisted entirely of staff members from the ward I was confined in who were directly subordinate to him. I pointed this out to the judge and asked how this could possibly be what the founders of the jury system had envisioned. The judge said he was sure he could trust them to be impartial. He then struck both my question and his answer from the record. Since then the right to a trial even by a farcical jury has been taken away from Pennsylvania's mental patients. Under current Pennsylvania law, even the judge who actually rules on a commitment does not have to be present at the hearing. It is considered sufficient for him to read the transcript. You usually meet your lawyer five minutes before the hearing starts if you are lucky enough to make it to your hearing. On many occasions when I asked Staff when my hearing was; I was informed that it had already occurred and I had lost. My right to attend had been "waived".

I was not deprived of my liberty on a continuous basis. When I finally gave up on life and quit trying to seek justice for myself the doctor would say I was "making progress" and when I was finally at my lowest the system would spit me out. In fact, at one point I went over eight years without medication or hospitalization. But even then and to this day any effort to wipe away this stain on my country's flag is considered by my family to be a sign I am "Having a problem". This is a situation akin to slavery in that the actions of States are allowed to be in direct contradiction to the United State's most cherished principles.

Whether or not I have a mental illness is a totally different matter than whether I should officially be a second class citizen. Many lawyers have told me I have valid cause for legal action but their case load does not permit them to help me. Perhaps they are too busy with Gitmo detainees. Shouldn't an American Citizen who has never been charged with a crime get more protection, not less?

I have not been without allies over the years. Numerous Staff members gave me reason for hope and Doctor Sholivar lodged a complaint to the FBI on my behalf. Twice I actually met sympathetic judges, one offered to help me with legal action against Bellvue Hospital in New York but at the time I was in too much of a medicated fog to go along. Though he himself said he did not consider me to be a danger to myself or others; Dr. Sholivar fought to keep me in his care for my own protection. He argued that in my state I would wind up in a hospital outside the reach of his aide. That is exactly what wound up happening.

You might wonder just what this issue has to do with you. Well, in Pennsylvania and many other states today commitment proceedings can be initiated by "Any Responsible Individual". The system in states that consider commitment a civil matter is ripe for manipulation by abusive spouses or relatives without the stomach for murder who want control of elderly relative's assets. In this post-9/11 age lies told about you sometimes simply have to be acted upon. Then for the next 72 hours your every action and word will be under the microscope, and chances are you will not be able to conceal your anger. Doctors in Pennsylvania have almost total power over those involuntarily committed; and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Whether to satisfy egomania or for bribes, Doctors can be incredibly cruel.

No new laws are required to completely eliminate this situation. Any sitting President has the authority and responsibility to act through the Justice Department if he or she becomes aware that a state is trampling the civil rights of an entire class of people. And if Congress becomes aware that a sitting President is knowingly allowing the rights of an entire class of American citizens to be violated they are obligated to impeach. Not that I believe it will really happen.

Once again Americans are preparing to celebrate our freedom, equality; and unite in faith that all Americans possess certain inalienable rights. I know better.

Somewhere inside me, the faintest glimmer of hope remains that; one of these years I might be proven wrong. And that is why I have written thus.

Donald Traill

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