Alberta man spent 12 years in psychiatric hospital despite not being mentally ill

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An Alberta man who spent nearly 12 years detained in a psychiatric hospital has been freed after a court heard new evidence he does not have a mental illness.

Chando Jackson, 37, was found not criminally responsible (NCR) due to a mental disorder for a 2012 break-in and assault in eastern Alberta. A doctor diagnosed him with schizophrenia, and a judge ordered him detained in hospital indefinitely, with his fate determined by the Alberta Review Board.

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Jackson filed an appeal earlier this year asking the court to consider new evidence from a doctor who believes he never had schizophrenia. The doctor argued Jackson’s psychosis at the time of the break-in was a result of intoxication, not a mental illness.

The Crown declined to challenge the new evidence and last month joined the defence in asking the Court of Appeal to overturn the NCR verdict. Jackson pleaded guilty to the initial 2012 charges and was sentenced to a day in jail, which the court deemed served by his time in hospital.

Stacey Purser, Jackson’s lawyer, said the system failed him.

“He was in a really vulnerable position when he was found NCR. He was (25) and quasi homeless, and struggling from these addictions issues. He saw what he thought would be a better outcome of hospital versus jail, and it kind of went the opposite way for him.”

Jackson was confined to hospital longer than many people convicted of crimes, including manslaughter, spend in prison, Purser added.

“It’s horrific,” she said. “I haven’t seen any example as drastic as this one.”

‘Indefinite’ detention

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Jackson broke into a home in St. Paul on March 30, 2012. He kicked down the door, beat up the man living there, and then sat on the living room couch watching TV until police arrived.

Jackson — who is Indigenous — was homeless at the time, addicted to drugs and alcohol, and mostly living on the streets of Edmonton.

Jackson was taken to a St. Paul doctor who diagnosed him with “agitated drug-induced psychosis.” He was later assessed by Dr. Vijay Singh at Alberta Hospital, who came to a different conclusion — Jackson was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia, which arose independent of his drug use.

Under Section 16 of the Criminal Code, people who commit crimes can be deemed “not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder” and sent to hospital instead of prison. To find someone NCR, a judge must be satisfied the person has a mental disorder that made them incapable of understanding their actions or knowing that they were wrong.

The law excludes “self-induced states” of psychosis caused by alcohol or drugs.

Despite conflicting information about whether Jackson used drugs the day of the break-in — and the competing diagnosis suggesting the psychosis was drug-induced — the Crown and defence proposed a joint submission asking then-provincial court Judge Kathleen Williams to declare Jackson NCR.

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During the hearing, defence lawyer Leighton Grey told the court Jackson was “off his medications” when he committed the break-in. Williams accepted the submission and urged Jackson to stay on the medication.

Jackson’s appeal, however, says he was never on anti-psychotic medication before the break-in. There is no mention in his pre-2012 medical records of a doctor ever prescribing him an anti-psychotic.

Several years passed before Jackson “came to fully understand the indefinite nature” of his detention, his appeal states.

“While I do not recall whether my lawyer, Mr. Grey, explained to me the consequences of the (NCR) finding or not, I did not fully appreciate that this could result in my continued detention in Alberta Hospital Edmonton over a decade later,” he said.

In an email, Grey said the decision freeing Jackson “is clearly based upon fresh evidence and subsequent changes in the law.”

“As such, I can offer no comment, other than that I wish Mr. Jackson well,” he said.

Never had schizophrenia

Jackson spent 12 years “almost entirely detained” at Alberta Hospital, according to his appeal. At each of his annual Alberta Review Board hearings, the board concluded he continued to pose a “significant threat” if released. The review board sometimes allowed Jackson to live under supervision in the community, but he relapsed into drinking and was returned to custody — including a 2015 incident that resulted in criminal charges.

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Jackson first appealed the NCR verdict in 2016, claiming he exaggerated his psychotic symptoms.

“I lied and manipulated the psychiatrist and regret it every day of my life,” he wrote. “I would like to have done (jail) time instead.”

The Court of Appeal declined to hear the case.

Jackson filed another appeal in June 2024 asking the court for more time to submit new evidence on the NCR verdicts. This time, the court agreed.

The key to the latest appeal was a diagnosis by Dr. Roger Brown, a forensic psychiatrist at Alberta Hospital. Brown treated Jackson for years and, as far back as 2016, concluded he “does not suffer from a primary psychotic illness.”

“I have not diagnosed Mr. Jackson with schizophrenia, and do not believe that he has ever had this disorder,” Brown wrote in a June letter filed with Jackson’s appeal.

Brown said Jackson was genuinely psychotic, but the psychosis was caused by substance use — not mental illness. Jackson was prescribed anti-psychotic medications after he arrived at Alberta Hospital but, by 2014, his treatment team had decided he did not need them.

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Brown ultimately diagnosed Jackson with alcohol and stimulant use disorders, as well as two personality disorders. He rated his long-term risk of violence as “moderate to high” if he resumes using drugs and alcohol.

Jackson’s appeal also claims procedural issues with the NCR verdict, arguing the judge failed to apply the correct legal test and Singh’s initial assessment wasn’t enough to find someone NCR.

The Crown conceded the appeal, agreeing on Sept. 10 that the NCR verdict should be overturned and Jackson should be released.

In an interview, Jackson said he is still processing what happened to him.

A father of four, Jackson missed out on a significant chunk of life. But he felt the time in hospital helped him in some ways. He received substance abuse treatment while inside and said he continues to work on his addiction issues.

“I lost everything, but now I have everything back,” he said.

‘Some middle ground’

Purser echoed concerns from other mental health lawyers that the Alberta Review Board — appointed by the provincial government — is overly conservative in granting privileges to NCR patients.

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She said in Jackson’s case, the board took a narrow view of the law and declined to rehash whether the NCR verdict was correct in the first place.

However, “the evidence from Dr. Brown, that (Jackson) didn’t … have schizophrenia, was before the review board since 2016,” she said. She understood the board’s desire not to relitigate every case but said, “There’s got to be some middle ground” in cases like Jackson’s.

Purser almost never recommends her clients pursue an NCR verdict, given the chance they might end up detained indefinitely.

“My personal rule is you don’t (go for) NCR unless it’s a murder,” she said. “It literally has to be a murder, it can’t even be a manslaughter. I would take a manslaughter (conviction) over an NCR verdict.”

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