In re Melton

Facts

Tommie Lee Melton, diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, had a fourteen-year history of failing to comply with his treatment regimen when not under hospital supervision. In July 1985, after returning from Florida where he had gone against medical advice, Melton’s mother reported to Saint Elizabeth’s Hospital that he was behaving belligerently and had punched her in the nose. When hospital representatives and police brought Melton to the hospital, he was found in extremely poor condition: disheveled, filthy, not having bathed for weeks, and urinating in his bedroom. As a diabetic with glaucoma, his failure to properly take medications (Orinese for diabetes and Melleril for mental illness, which were mixed together in one bottle) posed serious health risks. Two psychiatrists, Dr. James Byrd and Dr. Antoine Cornet, testified that Melton’s deterioration and threatening behavior resulted from missing Prolixin injections, and that without supervised medication he would rapidly “decompensate” and become psychotic, threatening, assaultive, and unable to care for himself. Their testimony was based partly on their observations, partly on reports from Melton’s family members, and partly on hospital records documenting his pattern of behavior over multiple prior admissions.