Sharon Stone was being stalked by a mentally ill man who broke into her home. He believes he is the son of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and that Ms. Stone's house is his. The case illustrates the almost total breakdown of America's mental health system and the need for reform.
According to TMZ:
Sharon Stone has just obtained a restraining order against an "obsessed mentally unstable delusional person," after the man broke into her L.A. home and was lying in wait.
According to the docs obtained by TMZ, the man -- Bradly Gooden -- claims he's the son of Hillary Clinton and wrote "The King's Speech" when he was 2 years old ... He told officers he had traveled from Ohio because he believes his mother -- Hillary Clinton -- bought him the house from Sharon Stone as a present. Gooden told cops, "It's now my house ... I live here."
But it gets worse. While the judge issued an order preventing Mr. Gooden from approaching Ms. Stone -- Gooden was placed on a psychiatric hold and released three days ago -- he "seems undeterred from returning to the property."
Seems undeterred from returning to the property?
If he is still so ill that he believes that Ms. Stone's house is his and he is the daughter of the Secretary of State then why isn't he getting treatment to help with his mental illness? Why is he being left locked in the insanity of his psychosis?
Mr. Gooden is typical of many in that small group of people with serious mental illness who become stalkers and subsequently commit crimes. No matter how hard families try, getting preventative treatment is almost impossible. The law gets in the way. Especially in California.
Untreated schizophrenia causes people to believe things that are not true (delusions) and see things that are not there (hallucinations). As a result of these delusions and hallucinations they take action.
Remember John Hinckley who shot President Ronald Reagan? That was to get a date with Jodi Foster. Remember David Letterman's stalker? She had schizophrenia and believed she was David Letterman's wife. In the case of Mr. Gooden, he cannot be held for treatment because he is not still considered 'dangerous.' That's likely why he was released from psychiatric hold.
Why does the law allow Ms. Stone to get a restraining order that protects her, yet families of people with mental illness can't get a restraining order that prevents the mental health system from releasing them before they are ready? As Dr. Steven Sharfstein pointed out in a recent issue of Psychiatric Services, micro-hospitalization-- discharging the mentally ill sicker and quicker is inhumane, expensive and counterproductive.
According to Officer.com:
"(S)ome of the most extreme and dangerous stalkers are those fueled by a mental illness. Primary diagnoses for mentally ill stalkers include schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or a delusional disorder."
These people need help. Yet the mental health system is so busy treating the worried-well and medicalizing everything, no one will treat the seriously ill.
On March 9th, Ms. Stone's restraining order on Mr. Gooden will likely be extended. Ms. Stone will be protected while Mr Gooden will be left untreated and vulnerable.