Mentally ill arsonist deemed no threat to society

A HIGH COURT judge has released a mentally ill man from a court order which kept him detained at St Ann’s psychiatric hospital as she discharged him for a 2005 arson charge.

Justice Lisa Ramsumair-Hinds said based on the opinion of Dr Dominic Nwokolo, of the St Ann’s Hospital, Kerry Gour was no longer a threat nor did he pose a risk to society despite an initial schizophrenia diagnosis.

Ramsumair-Hinds was tasked with reviewing Gour’s sentence after he pleaded guilty in 2013 to setting fire to his mother’s house in 2005.

Since the incident, Gour  spent more than seven years in prison  and the remaining time at St Ann’s as a result of various court orders.

The judge considered the time he spent in prison, saying he had served in excess of the three years she intended to impose on him.

In discharging him under  the section 13 order (of the Mental Health Act)  which kept Gour at St Ann’s as directed by the hospital director, Ramsumair-Hinds said the risk of his re-offending was no more than that of any other person diagnosed with schizophrenia.

She acknowledged he still required treatment but said there was no need to keep him in a hospital nor was there any justification for the court to continue to detain him.

“Any continued hospitalisation is for the mental health authorities and not the court.”

She pointed to  several avenues to have Gour readmitted to the hospital should it become necessary. It can be done by his relatives, the public, the police or even Gour himself.

Initially, the judge had been asked to have him admitted a supervised facility in Point Fortin but she said she could not find the legal authority to do so.

“I do not believe it to be the responsibility of a sentencing court,” she said, adding that there was no legislative structure for court-ordered supervision of psychiatric treatment, except under a section 13 order, for the criminally insane.

“It is not my place to command him to remain at the hospital. It is up to the doctors to do so,” she said as she called for a revision of the 1975 Mental Health Act, saying it required attention.

“It is quite outdated and does not bring into play any of the contemporary principles on mental health and the criminal justice system.”

At a previous hearing, she said the time had come for Trinidad and Tobago to “get with international standards” for treating prisoners with mental illnesses.

She also had a message for Gour. Addressing him directly, she told him in the same vein he admitted to intending to use marijuana, he could also access treatment to manage his illness.

“If you can wilfully and with certainty say you will smoke weed, you can wilfully and with certainty go to an outpatient clinic for treatment.

“But recognise you have a history that is known to mental health authorities and your relatives. It is up to you not to suffer a relapse or reoffend the law,” she told him.

“It is up to you to take care of your mental health. If you, for yourself, think you need to return to St Ann’s, you can do that. You are known in the system,” she said as she bemoaned not having the progressive legislative framework to enable the court to do more.

Gour was represented by attorney Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan. The State was represented by prosecutor Danielle Thompson.