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From: jimd@sequent.uucp (Jim DePorter)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Mental Harassment
Message-ID: <12926@accuvax.nwu.edu>
Date: 2 Oct 90 23:13:49 GMT
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X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 10, Issue 704, Message 4 of 9


	On the radio and in the newspaper today have been articles
about a state mental patient making dozens of obscene phone calls to a
couple.  The calls started last Friday and kept up over the weekend.
The couple had the guy tell them his name and found out he was calling
from the Oregon State Hospital. They called the hospital and were told
that due to patient confidentiality the hospital could not give any
info about the patient. The couple called the Portland police and
while the officer was there the patient again telephoned. The officer
called the hospital and was told there wasn't anything they could do
about the calls.  Seems the only way the patient could be kept from
the telephone would be to lock him in his room which the hospital
termed as cruel and unusual punishment.

	Now the interesting points. The patient is John Carl Eaton who
five years ago walked into his psychiatrist's office and fired several
shots into him in front of witnesses. He was found mentally
incompetent to stand trial and has spent the last five years in the
state hospital.  According to Oregon law he can get the charges
dropped after five years. The crazy thing about this is that the phone
is near a nurses station and that it is a pay phone!!! Why lock him
up? Just take away his quarters!


jimd

[Moderator's Note: I would use a little guerrilla warfare to teach the
hospital staff exactly what 'cruel and unusual punishment' is all
about. It may be he is not even using coins to pay for the calls. He
might have a fraud calling card number, a 800 wats-extender he is
linking into, or who knows what. Get the phone number at the nursing
station and for the hospital superintendent. Everytime the inmate
makes a call, make one in return to the nursing station and *demand*
that they get him under control. Call and raise a ruckus with the
superintendent. Tell him if he can't get his patients under control
that you will sue the institution to force him to do his job. Before
long, the staff will get tired of hearing from you, and its likely
they will lock the patient up somewhere, pump him full of medication
and keep him away from the phone.  PAT]