Customer Reviews

The Northumberland Nightmare: When Justice Ignores Mental Illness

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is something everyone in the Judicial system should read. This could happen to anyone of us with children. I am not saying Chad should not somehow be punished but not incaracated
for mental illness.Mental illness is so misunderstood, we need a book like this to open our eyes a little wider. We should be more concerned with trying to help someone in this situation
than trying to put them away.
I applaud Mr Wegkamp for being able to document this and sharing it with others to digest.

I was astonished as this story unfolded. Most of us understand that a person who hears voices and has delusions can not be judged the same as someone of normal mental health. In our rush to put away the bad guys, we forget that some people need to be helped more than they need to be punished. This book will open your eyes to just how blind "justice" can be.

Three cheers for Mr. Wegkamp's account of the nightmare he and his family lived through. I too had a similar experience with my son Billy and was inspired to write the account what what happened also. Unlike the Wegkamp's my wife and I were fortunate to have my bipolar son escape the state of Virginia after serving 14 months in jail for a hit and run (he ran into the back of another car at 10 mph and was away from the scene for 26 minutes to call his mother). I applaud Mr. Wegkamp for being brave enough to use real names in his book! I only wish his son could recieve proper (how about any..) care for his mental illness in a hospital instead of jail..and not have his son's mental illness blamed on the family by the prosecuter!

For all of us who have mentally ill family members, real justice will only come if we continue to expose abuses in the criminal justice system and fight on. Everyone needs to read this book and take it to heart...

As a crime novelist I work hard to create realistic characters. Nothing I have done, and few books I have read, come this close to capturing the human reality of small crimes in small towns. This book comes straight from the heart, and the people you meet in it will move you far more than any tale of muder and mayhem. When you read it you will feel their anguish, their strength and their courage!