Insanity, America, and the Actress

A "fan" of Uma Thurman's, who was arrested outside her apartment, had refused to plea-bargain and check himself into a mental hospital. The young man was involuntarily admitted to a mental hospital back in 2005 after he was first arrested in conjunction with his stalking the lithe actress. Attorneys managed to get him a deal where, if he agreed to plead guilty and was admitted to a mental institution, his crime would be dropped to a misdemeanor after 12 months there. The defendant refused.

This is so sad and disturbing because it's very obvious the guy is not sane. He may be sane enough to stand trial but what does that even mean? If insane people knew they were insane, there wouldn't be any fucking problem; they would simply check themselves into hospitals and that would be the end of it. In fact, being "insane" pretty much literally means you are incapable of making rational decisions (in short form), so how does this even make sense?

His family should be allowed to involuntarily commit him to treatment again and the DA should allow this to happen. Otherwise, the guy stands a good chance of going to prison for up to four years.

Punishing people with mental disabilities is pointless. Prisons are not equipped to handle such patients and they do not get any better. It is exactly the same thing as punishing someone with a physical disability or illness because they cannot control themselves or their bodily functions.

Further, aren't the prisons overcrowded enough as it is? They fill them up as fast as they build them and they're constantly under construction! When you get right down to it, the basic definition of "insanity" is doing the same thing over and over and expecting new results, so who is insane here? What good has come from imprisoning the mentally ill?

The guy needs treatment, otherwise he is going to have to be separated from the rest of society for the rest of his life (imprisoned). Ms. Thurman has every right not to have to worry about her safety and well-being in regards to this guy. But what is imprisoning the man going to accomplish aside from ruining his and his family's lives, keeping Ms. Thurman safe from his unwanted advancements for a year or two, and adding one more person to the already overwhelmed penal system?

Imprison the DA -- that will do everyone some good.