Mental Health Patient Detention
Reverend the Hon. Dr GORDON MOYES: In an article dated 29 April 2006 in the Sydney Morning Herald the sad and sober story of a 20-year-old girl named Kylie Hope Fitter was recounted. I refer honourable members to that article. Kylie was raised in an extremely devout religious environment—waited on by her mother and controlled by a domineering father. As a premature baby, she entered the world frail and vulnerable. This state of being, reflected also in her social and emotional condition, continued throughout her developmental years. Her father had rigid thoughts about God and religion, and, having been a victim of abuse as a child himself, continued to cultivate a precarious atmosphere, all in the name of protecting his children from the outside world.
As a result, Kylie became a recluse—sheltered from society, with no friends and no self-worth or self-esteem. Her social conditioning formed the platform for an unfortunate train of events that led to her being detained in prison these past five years. On 16 October 2001, while under the psychotic influence of her father and older brother, 15-year-old Kylie was asked by her father and brother to join with them in chasing and attacking an evil spirit to bring about its demise. In fact, the being that was being chased was not an evil spirit, but her mother. From her recollection, Kylie only admitted to having held the legs of the “being” down while her father and brother brought about the death of her mother, who suffered stab wounds at the hands of her husband and son.
On 22 August 2002 Kylie was found not guilty of the murder of her mother by reason of mental illness. The presiding judge made similar pronouncements over her father and brother. In the eyes and mind of the judge, Kylie was found to have been suffering from a temporary shared delusional state. Consequently, Kylie was ordered to be detained at the Yasmar Juvenile Justice Centre until and when the Minister for Health saw fit to release her. Importantly, Kylie’s father has acknowledged his full culpability for the murder and has absolved Kylie of any responsibility for the event that was carried out under his influence and direction.
After suffering post-traumatic disorder and depression for some time after her mother’s death, Kylie, according to her treating psychiatrists, has made a full recovery. As a matter of fact, in 2003 Kylie’s psychiatrists found that she was free from any psychiatric indications, giving her a clear bill of mental health. Since 2004 the Mental Health Review Tribunal has made recommendations to successive Ministers for Health that Kylie be granted conditional release. The Mental Health Review Tribunal members, comprising a lawyer, psychiatrist and another suitably qualified person, are all versed in mental illness, and are in a good position to make recommendations on such a sensitive issue. However, on each of the four separate occasions on which the tribunal has made a recommendation for Kylie’s release, the Minister at the time has rejected the recommendation.
To date, Kylie remains incarcerated in the Juniperina Juvenile Justice Centre, where she has maintained a stable and excellent profile for three years. Just today, the Forensic Executive Support Group notified of a further rejection. During her past three years in detention Kylie developed a close friendship with Bob and Janice Johnston and their four grown children. Anna Johnston, one of the daughters, initially had been asked by the chaplain to visit Kylie at the justice centre. After some initial trepidation she realised that Kylie had indeed been a victim of circumstances. The Johnstons agreed to be Kylie’s carers. They are tonight seated in the President’s gallery. On their initial encounters, Janice looked for signs of instability in Kylie and was reported in the Sydney Morning Herald as saying:
I wondered what the triggers might be … The first time she helped me in the kitchen I wondered how she felt about knives.
But after spending some time with Kylie their original trepidations have been overcome and they accept Kylie wholeheartedly, and they now love her as their own. The Johnstons have done everything in their power to bring about Kylie’s release. Cleared of any culpability for her mother’s murder, but stained by the scourge of mental illness, Kylie can only hope that the appropriate Minister will exercise his or her powers to grant her a release soon. It is to that end that I have been circulating petitions urging the relevant Ministers to release Kylie from detention. As honourable members will know, I presented a petition on this matter with 1,500 signatures just a week or so ago. With the burgeoning rate of persons suffering from mental illness and limited public resources, it is only right that persons like Kylie are released to join the community. There is no worldly reason for Kylie to continue to be detained. If political expediency is to blame, it is a sad state that such young and vulnerable persons like Kylie become caught in the middle. I urge honourable members to seek the release of Kylie Hope Fitter. 05 September 2006.
