Nassim: Britney Spears, Amanda Bynes and why their cases are making advocates think twice

by Adria Nassim

Many of us watched as pop icon Britney Spears' thirteen-year convenorship finally ended in November 2021 after a weeks-long battle in the courts during which she alleged financial abuse from her father, Jamie Spears. Separately, former child actress Amanda Bynes was recently released from her own conservatorship in late March, after 9 years following a period of significant mental health issues.

Such high-profile names have brought the issue of conservatorship and guardianship into the spotlight. However, in the disability community, establishment of guardianship or conservatorship is more common. Even though I am pleased to see that Spears and Bynes were able to have their conservatorships dissolved, this is less common in the case of people with disabilities. Not that it does not happen at all, but once guardianship or conservatorship is established, it is often a rare and sometimes a difficult occurrence to see it eliminated.

Understanding the difference between these two, guardianship and conservatorship, may not always be clear. Both of these legal arrangements are typically overseen by a court. A guardianship may be put in place when a child or adult is deemed physically or mentally incapable of caring for themselves and making their own responsible and safe decisions. The guardian is then responsible for decisions relating to daily care and living needs of the individual. These decisions can include providing or securing a safe and stable living environment, assisting with everyday care and managing financial matters related to everyday necessities. Similarly a conservatorship involves a judge appointed protector for a person who makes decisions regarding finances and/or daily life of another person due to old age or physical or mental limitations.

While establishment of guardianship is more common in the case of individuals with disabilities than those without, disability advocates and policy makers around the country are saying it’s time to shake things up. This would demand that individuals with disabilities be given more control over their own lives. In cases where the individual with a disability truly may not have the capacity to care for him or herself without significant assistance, may not be able to execute safe and responsible judgement and may unknowingly potentially place him or herself in a dangerous situation, yes, in those types of cases, guardianship may be needed.

Still I agree as well, with what many advocates and policy makers are saying, that just because a child grows up living life with a disability and later becomes an adult, it doesn’t mean that they can’t be taught or entrusted to make their own responsible and safe decisions and to have control over their day to day lives to the fullest extent possible.

According to the American Bar Association, since October 2019, 10 states including Indiana have now passed what are known as Supportive Decision-Making laws as an alternative to guardianship. Supportive Decision Making is defined as services and supports including trusted friends and family members in the lives of individuals with disabilities whom the individual may choose to go to for support and consultation in making a decision, such as where to live. This can be an informal arrangement but many times, it is a legal document kept on file with the court. For these 10 states that have passed Supportive Decision-Making laws, the law also states that guardianship must be in place only as a last resort and when absolutely necessary.

Adults with disabilities need to be held to high expectations, and I think even more so, they need to be allowed to fail. I think a lot of parents of children with disabilities only see the challenges their child will have or the struggles they may have. While this is understandable, for a while, it’s really important that families not just look at their kid’s challenges, but what they can do, and build from that.

Challenges for children with disabilities probably will not end in their teen years. However, if challenged, and if taught with the right amount of guidance and proper supports, many adults with disabilities can become capable of making their own decisions and executing control over their lives. When you live with a disability, you learn to rely on other people, but along with relying on a supportive community of individuals around them, adults with disabilities need to be given every chance possible to make their own decisions and figure out life on their own. I think it’s important to have people who can look after you, but also, as much as possible, to be able to look after yourself as well.

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Nassim: Britney Spears, Amanda Bynes and why their cases are making advocates think twice

Advocates eager to pass future legislation addressing Alzheimer’s-related issues

By MetroNews Staff

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Advocates are excited about possible future legislation addressing the needs of people with Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological disorders after the state Legislature approved a bill on police training during this year’s regular legislative session.

Gov. Jim Justice signed Senate Bill 570 on March 23. The law establishes a training curriculum for law enforcement; the West Virginia Bureau of Senior Services and the West Virginia Alzheimer’s Association will work with state officials on designing courses on identifying people with neurological disorders and addressing matters like elder abuse.

Sharon Covert, the executive director of the Alzheimer’s Association’s West Virginia chapter, said lawmakers have already contacted her organization about other issues and passing impactful measures.

“Our Legislature is interested and willing. They asked us, ‘What else?'” she told MetroNews. “We try to give them the best information that’s out there and really hear from the people in West Virginia and the national level about where should we be and what we should be doing.”

The organization worked with lawmakers as well as law enforcement to draft Senate Bill 570. Covert noted the organization has held training events with agencies before the legislation about identifying people with disorders and appropriate treatment of these individuals.

“We’ve been really fortunate in this state in a lot of ways,” she said. “We haven’t made the news on any encounters with law enforcement. That’s not to say they haven’t happened, but we can now avoid anything in the future if we get this done.”

According to Covert, Gov. Jim Justice will hold a ceremonial bill signing event later this month. The legislation will go into effect on June 9.

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Advocates eager to pass future legislation addressing Alzheimer’s-related issues

Lawmakers look to offer new guardianship protections in New Mexico

by Joy Wang

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.- Professional guardians have control over assets, can decide a person's healthcare, and even who visits them. 

However, advocates say, there isn't enough oversight, which can lead to bad actors preying on vulnerable people.

Rio Hamilton says his mom is the victim of a bad actor.

"She is the quintessential little old lady. She's the cutest thing in the world," said Hamilton. "She's able to function and do everything like a normal person, except she's just a little slower at it."

Hamilton's mom is now 92.

"I'm an only child, and I moved back from New York City to specifically take care of my mother during these golden years of her life," explained Hamilton. "So our intention was always that she would live at home and that we would be together."

Hamilton told KOB 4 the two of them reached out to a lawyer so he could become her power of attorney. But instead, "this lawyer filed an emergency petition, declaring my mother incapacitated," said Hamilton. "From that, they were able to seize her property, change her bank accounts, and leave me off of things like the medical directive, for my mother. This means that if my mother becomes very ill or possibly passes away, this Guardian company does not have to notify me."

Now Hamilton says he has no control over what's next.

"I would have been one of those naysayers like this could never happen to me," expressed Hamilton. "But if you've got substantial money in your account, and you are over the age of 80, and you're living alone, they are coming for you. If you have veterans benefits, and you live separate from your children, they are coming for you. If you are a 90-year-old widow person who's living off her husband's pension, they are coming for you."

His only solution is to file a grievance with the courts, but that takes time.

"There's been $90,000 in legal fees, and yet there is still no resolution," said Hamilton.

"Part of what's really difficult is that once a person has a guardian it becomes very difficult to access the courts to review the case, their case," explained Rep. Joanne Ferrary, D- Dona Ana, "Once a person has been adjudicated as incapacitated, some courts cease to allow the person to have a voice in court proceedings, and instead rely solely on the guardian to speak for that person."

House Bill 234 would create an oversight body at the state government level to review and investigate guardians and complaints filed against them.

Because right now, "they're not licensed, and there is no oversight complaint process," said Rep. Marian Matthews, D- Bernalillo. "Those are major changes that will afford greater protection for this... vulnerable group of people."

With New Mexico's population getting older, "this need for.... these professionals to help has I think just grown, and as a result, with it has grown the problem of people who take unfair advantage of vulnerable people," said Rep. Matthews.

"I know that this bill does not answer all the questions, or change any of the horrors that my family has had to go through," expressed Hamilton. "But one thing is for sure. It is a start."

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Lawmakers look to offer new guardianship protections in New Mexico

Spotlight Placed On Alzheimer’s Disease At Colorado Capitol

DENVER (CBS4) – Thousands of people in Colorado live with Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia. On Thursday, advocates of the disease will gather that the state capitol to shed more light on the debilitating disease.

(credit: CBS)

The gathering is part of the Alzheimer’s Association’s “Day at the Capitol” event. Over 70 volunteers are expected to show up and talk with state leaders about how the state can better address and fight the disease.

The group will be talking about two pieces of legislation that could impact the thousands of people in Colorado who are suffering from Alzheimer’s.

Senate Bill 73 would require the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to create a statewide electronic system that would allow qualified individuals to upload their advance medical directives. Advocates say that way when a person loses their memory or ability to communicate, their medical treatment desires are on record and easily accessible.

“That would prevent people from getting medical care or treatments they don’t want,” explained Jim Herlihy with the Colorado chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association.

(credit: CBS)

The second bill is House Bill 1045, which has to do with funding for the Public Guardianship Program. It provides a legal guardian for someone with Alzheimer’s who have no family or friends who can serve as a guardian.

Advocates say it is particularly important in the case that oftentimes at-risk adults are stranded for days at a hospital, because they have no guardian to sign their release forms.

“The Office of Public Guardianship has been established but it wasn’t funded,” Herlihy said. “So we’re looking for funding so that office can help speak for people who can’t speak for themselves.”

The events began on Thursday at 9:30 a.m.

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Spotlight Placed On Alzheimer’s Disease At Colorado Capitol

Seattle Takes on Elder Abuse as Reported Cases Rise

Mary Lynn Pannen, founder and CEO of Sound Options, has consulted thousands of Washington families on geriatric care for 30 years. Photo courtesy of Sound Options.

As Seattle’s senior population rises, elder abuse is increasingly becoming an issue on city officials and caretakers’ radars. Advocates throughout the nation are calling on states to increase public awareness of elder abuse and for courts to respond to the epidemic.

Federal data obtained by the New England Center for Investigative Reporting showed that adult protective services throughout the country conducted over 713,000 elder-abuse investigations in fiscal year 2017, with nearly a third of the cases identifying victims of abuse or self-neglect. In Washington, reported elder-abuse cases increased from 19,000 in 2012 to 49,000 in 2017.

Although the soaring number of cases concerns Mary Lynn Pannen—founder and CEO of Washington-based Geriatric care management firm Sound Options—she said that the increased reporting is also a result of better data collection. Pannen has seen progress in the state’s response to elder abuse since she worked as the head of a Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department counsel that focused on the issue 35 years ago. “It is a silent crime, because you’ve got frail adults that are living at home for the most part,” said Pannen. “Some of them are unable to handle their own affairs, and they have people that come along their way and take advantage of them.”

Over the past 30 years, Pannen and her staffers at Sound Options have consulted families throughout the Puget Sound region on caring for older adults. Employees at offices in Seattle, Tacoma, and Olympia help caretakers create and execute care plans, work with elder law attorneys, and advocate on behalf of people in hospitals or community facilities. Staffers are trained to be keenly aware of elder-abuse cases, which usually manifest as financial exploitation.

One recent incident that her staffers observed involved the son of a client who gradually extracted money from his mother’s bank account. Other clients can be vulnerable to repeated instances of abuse. For instance, six months ago they were alerted to a case in which a caregiver exploited a client by inviting her boyfriend and animals to live in the house, Pannen shared. The client then hired another caregiver who convinced the client to sell her house and deed it to her. The caregiver then impoverished the homeowner by stealing $200,000 from her, Pannen said. She has also seen instances of neglect, such as when staffers discovered that a husband was withholding food and water from his wife.

Staffers are customarily contacted by elder law attorneys or neighbors who suspect the abuse. Staffers will then travel to the older adults’ homes to conduct assessments and ask the clients about their power of attorney and who has access to their bank account. They’ll look for red flags, such as bruises on the client or a refusal by family members or caretakers to allow the older adults to respond to the staffers’ inquiries. Once they’ve gathered enough information to suspect abuse, staffers will then report it to Adult Protective Services.

“One of the things to prevent abuse is to make sure that we can help de-stress the whole family unit, because caregiving is really hard,” Pannen said. “This is a serious issue and we need to have the public understand that.”

She’s found that abuse often goes unreported because older adults might feel shame or be unaware about the neglect or abuse they have faced at the hands of their own family members or caregivers. Her observation reflects national trends: the 2011 New York State Elder Abuse Prevalence Study estimated that 23.5 cases of abuse go unreported for every reported case.

In response to the epidemic, local agencies have bolstered protections for older adults in recent years. The Seattle Human Services Department’s Aging and Disability Services division (HSD/ADS) seeks to address the widespread issue by working with the Office of the King County Prosecuting Attorney and Adult Protective Services to provide older adults with financial, health, and legal services and safe housing in the face of abuse.

HSD/ADS’ Vulnerable Adult Program was created in 2011 to improve reporting of vulnerable adults by the Seattle Fire Department (SFD) and improve communication between departments that enforce laws and partners that provide senior services. The program consists of a partnership with SFD, Seattle Human Services/Aging and Disability Services, the Seattle Police Department, Adult Protective Services, and community organizations. “By working across departments, the program is one of the first of its kind, has [been] shown to work, and has been successful in getting care and services to vulnerable adults. We respond to an average of 35-45 reports per month by Seattle Fire Department,” HSD spokesperson Meg Olberding wrote.

According to Adult Protective Services’ (APS) data, King County’s efforts are helping increase elder-abuse reporting. APS reported a nearly 50 percent increase over the previous five years in reported allegations of elder abuse in 2014. In 2017, over 11,000 allegations were reported to APS in Region 2, which includes King County, with nearly 30 percent of the cases concerning financial exploitation.
In the future, Pannen hopes that preventative services such as Sound Options and other geriatric-care management firms will be used by families to curb the epidemic.

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Seattle Takes on Elder Abuse as Reported Cases Rise

Dignity in Old Age

We are not equal in old age.

That's the tragic truth.

As equal as we are in human dignity and value in God's sight, some are treated very differently, especially as age limits physical ability.

Some have the advantage of family members who live nearby and can take time to be with them. Some have family with accessible homes who invite them in. Some have family who can ensure they have the best treatment in a senior residence.

Some don't.

Some have the advantage of money to pay for the best care.

Some don't.

In Huron, where I served before moving here, Medicaid-covered residents at the larger nursing home were two to a room, while others enjoyed single occupancy. When visiting people in nursing homes in Pierre, it is not hard to tell whose care is paid for by Medicaid. Often - not always, but often - that person's circumstances are worse.

For a younger person, we might encourage them to work harder and make more money, but someone well past retirement age? I don't think so.

Of Pierre's senior residences, assisted living facilities, and nursing homes, some are fantastic environments.

Some are not.

Caregivers and nursing home staff are well intentioned, work hard, and have so much kindness to share. But when staff are poorly treated or run ragged, residents are going to be poorly served.

We deserve equal dignity in old age. From the Ten Commandments on, God has always affirmed that, and will hold anyone accountable for not treating people with the dignity they deserve.

God commands "honor your father and mother that your days may be long in the land." So what can we do?

1. Live with elderly parents.

A friend of mine and her family are about to move into her mother's house to care for her in the midst of Parkinson's. That used to be common, but today it's rare. People living farther from parents as well as the economic realities of two income households and more irregular work hours make this harder, and the community (workplaces included) can support families in this. But there's also a cultural shift that needs to happen, and it's going to take bold people giving it a shot.

2. Advocate for elders.

There are some magnificent people who regularly volunteer their time to play music and visit people in nursing homes and assisting living. There ought to be more. Families and the professionals serving people are on the front lines, but the whole community can be invested in their well being.

3. Don't tolerate exploitation.

Exploiting elders for financial gain is an attack on the dignity of vulnerable people. God hates exploitation, and we should hate it too. Where we can, we should drive exploitation out of town, because we don't want that in our community.

Never treat someone with anything less than full human dignity, especially for your own financial gain. Whether in good health or in infirmity, treat elderly parents, neighbors, and fellow Pierre residents with honor.

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Dignity in Old Age

Have a beef on a nursing home? Pa. inspectors won't talk to you, advocates say

Ana Escalante and Rebecca Clark

Michael Clark was shocked by how quickly his elderly mother deteriorated in May when he put her in a Philadelphia nursing home because caring for her had become overwhelming.

After 10 days, Clark found her "in the cafeteria slumped over the table in distress, not able to lift her head, complaining of neck pain," Clark said.

The next day, May 12, Rebecca Clark, 96, was admitted to Pennsylvania Hospital, where she spent two weeks, followed by 10 days of therapy at a different home.

When Michael Clark complained to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, which regulates nursing homes, he was stunned by how easily the facility was cleared.

"No interview with me. No interview with the client," Clark said, pointing to his mother, who is back in his home.

"No 'Can we see any pictures?' So what kind of investigation did they do? Really, it was a one-sided investigation where they said they went to the facility and spoke to the staff. The staff is going to give you a one-sided story," Clark said.

Advocates for nursing-home residents and their families said Clark's experience is common.

"It's like calling 911 and the police going to the suspect's house, listening to his side of the story," and then clearing the suspect, said Samuel Brooks, a senior attorney at Community Legal Services Inc., of Philadelphia.

The state Department of Health countered that it takes nursing-home complaints seriously, follows up on every inquiry, and, in the last year, has improved oversight.

"Some people being displeased with the results of our investigations doesn't mean that the investigatory process was not followed," said agency spokesman Wes Culp.

In June of last year, Community Legal Services published a report by Brooks that criticized the Health Department for dismissing 92 percent of the complaints against Philadelphia nursing homes and minimizing the severity and breadth of harm when it finds deficiencies.

The following month, Secretary of Health Karen Murphy asked Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene A. Pasquale for an audit of how the agency ensured adequate nursing care, how it responded to complaints, and how consistently it imposed fines.  (Click to continue)

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Have a beef on a nursing home? Pa. inspectors won't talk to you, advocates say

Advocates seek more funds to fight elder abuse

Ramona Wilson tidied her house, parked both of her cars in her garage, shut all the doors and turned on the engines.

But before she could climb behind the wheel and asphyxiate herself, she was interrupted by a tap, tap, tap on her front door.

Two strangers stood on her porch. Wilson was angry at being interrupted and wanted to chase them away. But one of them — Dave Kessler — told her he understood the shame and embarrassment she must have felt after being conned out of $50,000 by a man she thought loved her.

He could help her, Kessler said.

At 74, Wilson had been through a lot in life, but nothing before had robbed her of her will to live.

Kessler, who worked in the Ohio attorney general’s office, asked her to make a pot of coffee and listen to what he had to say.

“She needed to hear that it wasn’t her fault,” he said.

•    •    •

Ohio officials hope to elevate elder abuse to the forefront of societal concerns through stories such as Wilson’s in much the same way that attention was called to child abuse 30 years ago and to domestic violence 10 years ago, said Cynthia Dungey, director of the state Department of Job and Family Services.

The state also plans to create a stronger statewide adult-protective-services system and wants to encourage the kind of collaboration among caseworkers, law-enforcement agencies, prosecutors and others that helped put Wilson’s life back together.

“It was like he had been sent from God,” Wilson said of Kessler. “I learned that while I couldn’t go back and change things, that didn’t mean I had to stop living.”

Wilson told Kessler how she had met Charles Sellers at church one summer afternoon in 2005. He had offered to walk her to her car after the sermon. He was 24 years younger than she was, but they exchanged phone numbers and struck up a friendship.

What she didn’t know at the time was that Sellers had recently been released from prison after serving 10 years for fatally shooting a man during a gambling argument.

Wilson enjoyed the attention that Sellers lavished on her. She had lost her third husband, James, not even a year earlier to Alzheimer’s and was lonely and still grieving. Sellers finally admitted details of his past, but he had convinced Wilson and most other members of their church that he was a reformed man, a good Christian, deserving of a second chance.

After a three-month courtship, Wilson and Sellers married. He then persuaded her to take out a $14,000 home-equity line of credit on her North Side house for home repairs and to open a dental office. A few days later, he called Wilson to say he was going to a hospital on his way home from work.

He hung up before Wilson could ask what was wrong. He never came home, and Wilson frantically called family, friends and then the police to report him missing.

Soon, Wilson saw ATM withdrawals in Dayton, near what police would tell her were known prostitution areas. Sellers ultimately ended up in Wheeling, W.Va., where, while high on cocaine and heroin, he fell out of a brothel window and was hospitalized with a broken arm, court records show.

By then, he had blown $50,000 — the money from the home-equity line and Wilson’s entire life savings.

“Can you imagine your whole life gone like that?” Wilson asked. “The worst part was I lost my respect. Even my own children were talking behind my back.”

Although Kessler said he might not be able to return her money, he promised he would try to bring her justice. He worked with Columbus police and the Franklin County prosecutor’s office to build a case against Sellers. In the meantime, Adult Protective Services in Franklin County and the Pickaway County Victims of Crime program helped Wilson seek civil remedies, including a divorce.

In 2007, Sellers was sentenced to five years in prison by Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Eric Brown. He appealed and, in 2008, was given five years’ probation and ordered to pay $14,326 in restitution.

To spare others the pain she went through, Wilson, who had become pastor of her church, traveled the state with Kessler to tell her story.

“I’m not a victim anymore,” she said. “I’m an overcomer.”  (Continue Reading)

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Advocates seek more funds to fight elder abuse

Forbidden: The Fool’s Challenge

All you people claiming to advocate for the elderly and disabled, just who do you think you are to challenge judicial decisions, facilities, attorneys, conservators, guardians and fiduciaries?  They are, after all, proven, by their positions, to be above reproach.  How dare you challenge their intent, actions and/or character!
 
Judges, attorneys, CEO’s and others in charge have proven by the stations they have risen to, to be of perfection… the elite of the world… the all-knowing… and the all honest.  Never do they take advantage of their positions for personal financial gain nor to have a personal agenda in play.  Never do they do anything beneath their position.  To suggest otherwise is to be singled out to be disgraced and to possibly be labelled a threat or even mentally unbalanced.

I’m not sure what has happened to common sense and healthy thought process, but some kind of virus has been on the attack, it would seem.  Facts seem to be subjective or totally irrelevant.  It’s almost as though we are living in the “mad house” out here in the everyday world.  Too many things, arguments and decisions are outright crazy.

We have various Courts that worry about individuals taking advantage of the elderly or disabled, while signing off on outrageous fees for attorneys, appointed guardians and so forth.  What is the difference between the latter and the former?  Oh, is it because the latter is condoned by the courts and protected by some carelessly written law or skillful misinterpretation?  That somehow makes one right and the other wrong?

Worse than the money drain by the courts and appointed anointed-ones is the power to isolate the victims.  (Yes, victims.  What else would you call the people, who suddenly are imprisoned and forced to be and have done unto them what they would not, and do not, want done unto them and theirs?)

How can someone that robs another of companionship, enjoyment, freedom, money, property and simply an existence called living, be considered humane?  Animals are treated better than many of the elderly and disabled thrown into the system, because they could be thrown into the system — even if by a wrongful technicality in the law or by a court that is complicit due to bias or simply doesn’t look beyond the surface or listen to the bothersome advocates or nobodies that dare speak against the supposed “perfect” attorneys, professional guardians and such?  They never lie or steal or do unethical things, now do they?

In recent news, we have heard…

“WASHINGTON — Three central Ohio nursing homes were among 33 in 11 states cited for improper care and billing practices yesterday as part of a $38 million settlement among a major nursing-home company, the U.S. Department of Justice and the state of Ohio.

“The announcement in Washington and Columbus resolved an investigation by the federal government, Ohio and seven other states into charges that Extendicare of Canada provided services at those 33 homes that were “materially substandard” or “worthless” because the company did not provide care to residents that meets federal standards, according to the settlement agreement.”  (Federal investigation finds three local nursing homes lacking )

Now wait a minute.  I thought “all” facilities provided only the best of care and that complainers were just making things up or exaggerating.  They weren’t?

More recent news…

“The Ohio Supreme Court has suspended Akron attorney Rami M. Awadallah from practicing law after ruling that he fraudulently and deceptively represented several of his clients — including some in Lorain County — during court proceedings.”  (Ohio Supreme Court suspends area attorney)

What’s that?  An attorney “fraudulently and deceptively represented several of his clients”?  But… but… but… I thought that was impossible?  I thought “all” attorneys “always” spoke nothing but the truth and “always” acted in the best interest of the client or ward.  He didn’t?  What’s up with this?

More in the news…

“Paul S. Kormanik, a Columbus attorney considered up until two months ago to be legal guardian to more incompetent people than anyone else in the nation, was indicted today on theft charges by a Franklin County grand jury.

Prosecutor Ron O’Brien and Attorney General Mike DeWine will announce the charges this afternoon after the grand jury determined there was sufficient evidence that Kormanik stole about $41,000 from two of his wards.”  (Lawyer indicted for theft from those he was supposed to protect)

An attorney — a legal guardian — was indicted for what?  Stealing?  Stealing from people he was the guardian for?  Oh my!  Bubble buster!

While we are talking about a system lacking perfection and often tilted towards the powerful, though not necessarily the righteous or side with the cleanest of hands, let’s return, for a moment, to discussion involving isolation of the wards.  What judge or guardian or facility could possibly think isolation of a non-violent, non-contagious person is a good thing?

Decades ago, researchers found there is such a thing as “failure to thrive”.  It actually exists.  There is no question.   Why then, would anyone place another person in isolation and risk that person dying due to “failure to thrive”?  Why?  How can it be justified?  It can’t!  Therefore, I believe, anyone involved in isolating a non-violent, non-contagious person, should have to answer why they should not be charged with kidnapping and abuse or even murder, should the person die as a result.

I can think of numerous cases where people have been thrown into isolation and the ironies surrounding it all is out there in a suburb of the Twilight Zone.  Yes, so amazing is it all that I’m surprised a “duh” isn’t permanently imprinted upon both the perps and the out-of-touch — can’t get it — zombie followers that go around drooling false talking points, as though it is gospel, while alleging the truth-tellers are the liars.

When a ward is put into isolation, who is the threat?  The one that ordered the isolation or the one challenging it?

When a petition is presented to starve & dehydrate a ward, who is the threat?  The person who did the petitioning or the one that fights for life, visitation, rehabilitation and stimulation?

The answers should be quite easy to figure out, but instead, it looks as though too much power and trust has been placed where not deserved.  It would seem, according to recent news, that we can’t always assume the courts and appointed anointed-ones are of perfection and holier than thou after all.  Maybe sometimes they are up to no good and their word isn’t worth what comes out of a donkey’s rump.  And, maybe sometimes people are wrong, but without any ill-intent.  Maybe they just lost sight and are blinded by self-preservation and inability to admit error.  But how do we know?  How do we know, if we don’t inquire and investigate behind the curtain, especially a curtain pulled tightly, as if to keep any from peeking in?

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Forbidden: The Fool’s Challenge