While I am happy that we have days and months in which we promote awareness of mental health, it is important to me to speak about mental health and criminal charges.
This was a great question and in the last 20 years, I have represented many clients who have had mental health challenges, drug addiction, abuse issues or all three.
These clients need to be heard and I ask the court to be compassionate to their individual situations while also trying to get help for my clients so they can break the cycle.
I often say charges can be a silver lining in that you have an opportunity to face your challenges and try to address them.
This is not about avoiding consequences but instead helping someone that is already down. What can we do together to lift someone up? This could be counselling, therapy, rehab, medication etc.
By addressing these peoples problems and rehabilitating them, we actually end up providing more protection to the public generally as they are less likely to reoffend.
It is possible to ask for compassion from the courts but this needs to be done with a plan in place. If you are in need of a criminal defence lawyer, please contact me. I’m happy to provide you with representation and a collaborative, compassionate approach to addressing any charges you are facing.
