The mental health issue is paramount because so many people wind up in a psychotic episode and commit crimes. Once they're treated, they're okay. Then they have to go back constantly to where they were. Any system that would address that mental illness, rather than giving them a fine—and I know this is a justice committee question—would say, this person deserves mental health treatment, not a criminal record. They need health care not jail time, not an absence of recourse to care.
As a nurse, I cannot emphasize that enough because your physical and mental health.... As I said in my statement, so many people are so relieved to receive a record suspension but going through the process, as Rodney stated, is like revisiting a life that isn't yours anymore, and it feels like a horrible.... It's like going back to something you left behind.