This is a picture of my brother Nicholas. His story and his medical records dating back into his early childhood have been sent to the Dallas District Attorney's office, Courtney Young (mental health coordinator at Lew Sterrett), Patty Scalli (mental health liaison), Ezekiel Tyson (Nick's court appointed attorney), Lyndi Anagnostis (prosecuting district attorney), Channel 4 News, Channel 11 News, NAMI and many more, yet he remains imprisoned. I went to visit Nick on Tueday and was extremely saddened by his worsened condition. Nicholas has taken no medication since his arrest in June of 2009 even though multiple doctors have state that he suffers from the worst case of schizophrenia seen in their careers. While Lew Sterrett staff continue to find Nicholas forensically competent, I find it difficult even to carry a conversation with him. During my hour-long visits with Nicholas I may capture a single minute of his attention and am not even certain that he is aware of my presence. While I spend every moment of the allowed weekly visit trying to speak with him, he spends most of visitation speaking with entities unseen by myself and does not hold eye contact with me. Toward the end of our visiting hour, a prison employee walked by and my mother had him look through the window to see our Nicholas on the other side. He stood, shaking his fists and yelling at an invisible enemy. We couldn't even tell him goodbye or that we love him. My mother told the officer, "When we visit we can see other people visiting with their loved ones. They can speak with each other, but this is what visiting is like for us. Is anyone in there able to speak with him?" The guard just shook his head, stating that Nicholas was always like that. Now I'm left wondering, if Nick is always like that how did he manage to stand before a judge, be found forensically competant and plead guilty to a felony charge that he did not commit? Please help my brother. He needs medical attention, not imprisonment.
