Family Ties that BIND

Last night I cried. I'm generally not the weepy type and it wasn't in the "Oh, how sweet", while watching "The Notebook"- or "If one MORE thing happens to this girl!"suffering through "Precious"-type of way. I shed tears because I felt angry, frustrated, and powerless. I cried for my little brother, Jamie.

For those of you who don't know, Jamie is currently incarcerated in the South Central Correctional Facility in Clifton, Tennessee. While everyone there is a "victim of the system" according to them, Jamie actually is. You see, Jamie suffers from the co-occurring disorder of poverty and schizophrenia/bi-polar disorder. Talk about a "one-two punch". But more on that later...

When we were growing up, we always called Jamie crazy but, in all actuality, he was no weirder than any other Reese we knew. We were all prone to exaggerated, theatrical public performances (also known as "showing out"), and eccentric flights of fancy. For instance, as children, we actually believed we could fly if REALLY we put our minds to it. Remind to tell you about the time we jumped from the top of a three-step stairway and swore we stayed afloat for ten seconds. (Well, on second thoughts, maybe not.)

Yet, while we somehow became adults and grew out of it, Jamie did not. Jamie never accepted the limitations of reality that accompanies adulthood. I'm still not sure that that is a bad thing.

Over the course of the years, Jamie predictably got in trouble with the law. As he got older, his then undiagnosed problem got worse and Jamie suffered more, self-medicated more, got in trouble more. His last episode resulted in him being arrested for "leaving the scene of an accident" after hitting five cars in downtown Nashville. He said he was on his way to see my mother so she could pray the demons away that had been chasing him for over a month. He never made it. The demons caught him....not to mention the po-po.

While locked up in his psychotic state, he assaulted two police officers whom he said taunted him by saying they were gonna "cut his balls off." They paid for that statement with several bruises, lacerations, and a broken finger. Jamie paid for it by having his parole violated. Violation of his parole could mean he would have to fulfill his nine year sentence from a previous case.

Through the efforts of my diligent, prayerful mother, we were able to get him officially diagnosed, have the court consider his condition, and have his case transferred to Mental Health Court. That was over a year ago. This seemingly "cut and dry" case continues to go through the system. Hence, his continued incarceration, Hence, his letter. Hence, my tears.

Although Jamie's story seems intensely personal to me because he is my little brother, several families throughout America, and particularly the Black community, experience the anguish and frustration I feel when their loved one is caught in the cross hairs of mental illness and the criminal justice system. Unfortunately, Jamie's story is not unique. What do you do when you are confronted with limited resources to properly defend your loved one and even less compassion from a system that barely recognizes the legitimacy of the core problem? How do you convince an overworked and cynical system that your case is different, that your loved one is not common recidivist, that leniency is warranted.... that Jamie is special?

I guess you have to keep relying on the prayers of a diligent mother and on the powers of an awesome God. But for a mere mortal like me, it's enough to keep me all thunked out.