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6523
Joined
2/22/2011
Location
Somewhere, MO
US
Edited Date/Time
6/4/2012 7:59pm
... So I thought I would share it with my moto buddies to get your opinion on this deal. It's kind of long so bear with me here. All time periods are estimations.
A friend of mine has a husband who is a veteran of the Iraq War. Due to the things he saw in that war, he suffers from PTSD. He has medication for it and everything, but I guess sometimes that isn't even enough to completely help him. About 8 months ago, he was pulled over and arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. I'm not sure if this had anything to do with the PTSD or if it was just a stupid mistake on his part. Obviously I never asked her about the details of her husband's DUI. After this arrest, he was put on probation (not sure for how long).
Well about a month or so ago he had a severe episode of PTSD. I guess he was outside with his guns thinking Iraqi soldiers were attacking him. It was bad from what I heard. His wife (my friend) called his dad and his dad came over and tried to get him under control. The police were eventually called and he was brought under control. After he was brought under control, the police arrested him and just recently a judge ruled that this PTSD episode violated his DUI probation and he now has to spend 95 days in jail.
My question to you guys is this. Is it right to jail a guy who got PTSD from serving this country and subsequently violated his probation because of it? Like I said, I'm not sure if the DUI was his bad or was caused by the PTSD. What I do know is that his wife is an awesome person, and I highly doubt she would marry a guy that would do things like this had he not served our country and developed PTSD. I have not met her husband though, so I honestly can't be 100% sure. I think it's total bullshit that the justice system is doing this to him. I guess in their mind, he was a threat to society and needed to be taken off the streets for awhile.
It gets even worse though. The medication that he was on that helped tremendously, but obviously not 100% effective, is not allowed in the jail, because no medications are allowed in there for any reason. I'm not sure when his sentence starts (or if it already has) but what I do know is it really does make me sad to see the kind of shit our soldiers go through both in war and after it. On top of that, for the justice system to make the ruling they did is just pathetic in my opinion. These soldiers risk their lives for our freedom, pay the price during and after the war, then come back home and have shit like this happen.
I just thought I would share this with my moto buddies. PTSD is a very serious thing that really isn't talked about all that much. It is very serious though, as the story I just told you shows, and I'm sure this is only one example of many.
A friend of mine has a husband who is a veteran of the Iraq War. Due to the things he saw in that war, he suffers from PTSD. He has medication for it and everything, but I guess sometimes that isn't even enough to completely help him. About 8 months ago, he was pulled over and arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. I'm not sure if this had anything to do with the PTSD or if it was just a stupid mistake on his part. Obviously I never asked her about the details of her husband's DUI. After this arrest, he was put on probation (not sure for how long).
Well about a month or so ago he had a severe episode of PTSD. I guess he was outside with his guns thinking Iraqi soldiers were attacking him. It was bad from what I heard. His wife (my friend) called his dad and his dad came over and tried to get him under control. The police were eventually called and he was brought under control. After he was brought under control, the police arrested him and just recently a judge ruled that this PTSD episode violated his DUI probation and he now has to spend 95 days in jail.
My question to you guys is this. Is it right to jail a guy who got PTSD from serving this country and subsequently violated his probation because of it? Like I said, I'm not sure if the DUI was his bad or was caused by the PTSD. What I do know is that his wife is an awesome person, and I highly doubt she would marry a guy that would do things like this had he not served our country and developed PTSD. I have not met her husband though, so I honestly can't be 100% sure. I think it's total bullshit that the justice system is doing this to him. I guess in their mind, he was a threat to society and needed to be taken off the streets for awhile.
It gets even worse though. The medication that he was on that helped tremendously, but obviously not 100% effective, is not allowed in the jail, because no medications are allowed in there for any reason. I'm not sure when his sentence starts (or if it already has) but what I do know is it really does make me sad to see the kind of shit our soldiers go through both in war and after it. On top of that, for the justice system to make the ruling they did is just pathetic in my opinion. These soldiers risk their lives for our freedom, pay the price during and after the war, then come back home and have shit like this happen.
I just thought I would share this with my moto buddies. PTSD is a very serious thing that really isn't talked about all that much. It is very serious though, as the story I just told you shows, and I'm sure this is only one example of many.
I understand he suffers from PTSD and he was suffering from and episode of it but if I was a judge, that would be such a hard thing to decide. I mean what if he had actually shot someone?
Along with that, what is someone with that amount of PTSD doing with guns?
The no medication in jails is pretty shitty.
I wish a exception could be made for that, I don't know to much about PTSD besides what I learned in some lower level Physiology classes. Maybe something could be arranged for some therapy or something as I think thats his best bet.
There's a difference between a criminal, a person that knows they're doing wrong but just doesn't care, and someone with a genuine mental illness who's suffering terribly and is in effect, crying out for help. I realise people can sometimes use it (mental illness) as an excuse to escape jail time but in this instance it should be pretty obvious to the authorities that he's the real deal. No one was harmed either.
I would however suggest taking his guns away though, at least until he's given professional help and deemed stable again.
The Shop
Being a judge on that ruling would be super hard. You have to ensure the safety of the public, but I just wish there were a better thing to do than put him in a jail cell.
You have to look at it from another perspective though. If he was my neighbor and he was outside doing this stuff, I would want safety for my family no matter what. To a neighbor or somebody that doesn't know him or his situation, he is probably just labeled as an alcoholic who got a DUI and then went crazy with a gun and could have potentially harmed my family or myself.
Like I said, I'm not sure if his PTSD contributed to his DUI or not. If it did, it makes this situation more shitty. If it didn't, then really it was his fault for putting himself in that situation in the first place. If I were to guess, I would say that PTSD did have something to do with his DUI as well, but that's pure speculation so nobody can really be sure.
That young man needs to be helped and not jailed.
Sorry to hear about your friend man, my thoughts and prayers are with him.
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