Schizophrenia Case Study Answers

The victim was a nineteen-year-old catatonic schizophrenic who was attending a religious practical training school called Oak Haven. While there, he was subject to disciplinary processes when he did not respond to treatments. The defendant, Daniel Thomas, was it work coordinator at Oak Haven and had been given permission from the victim's parents to discipline their son, if necessary.

When the victim failed to respond to normal treatments, Thomas took him to the edge of campus where he pulled the victim's pants down and proceeded to strike him with a rubber hose. This first disciplinary action lasted approximately 15 to 30 minutes. After being disciplined, the victim again failed to respond to treatment. Following this, the disciplinary process was repeated again, but it lasted approximately 45 minutes and the victim was struck between 30 and 100 times. The beating left the victim with severe bruising from the waist down and open bleeding sores on his thighs. Thomas did not seek proper medical attention for the victim, and he died nine days later.
Crush syndrome is characterized by wide-scale shock and ischaemia followed by renal failure. It was argued that when Thomas beat the victim, the tissue damage was so extensive that extracellular fluid accumulated within the tissue layers following ischaemia repercussion. This led to disseminated intravascular coagulation which cause an overall intravascular volume depletion that made it impossible for the victim to participate in basic activities such as sitting up and